ROBERT  FULTON 
AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 


KuUUKl     i-ll,  lu.N 

Iroiii  tlie  oriktiii.Tl  miniature  owned  by  C.  Franklin  Crnry,  trrandson 
of  Koliert  Iiilton.     Never  before  reproiluccd 


ROBERT  FULTON 
AND  THE  "CLERMONT' 


THE    AUTHORITATIVE    STOHY  OF 

HOBERT  FULTOn's  EARLY  EXPERIMENTS,  PERSISTENT 

EFFORTS,    AND     HISTORIC    ACHIEVE3IENTS. 

CONTAINING    MANY    OF    FULTOn's 

HITHERTO     UNPUBLISHED 

LETTERS,  DRAWINGS, 

AND  PICTURES 


BY 

ALICE  CHARY  SUTCLIFFE 

GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER   OF  THE   INVENTOR 


NEV/  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1909 


-<j 


a- 


6360 


Copyright,  1908,  1909,  by 
The  Century  Co. 


PublisJied  September,  1909 


THE    DE  VINNE    PRESa 


'\r  3  ^-  'i 


THIS  VOLUME  IS   AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 
TO   MY  FATHER 

THE  REVEREND  ROBERT  FULTON  CRARY,  D.D. 

(eldest   GRANDSON   OF    ROBERT   FULTON) 

FOR   FORTY  YEARS   RECTOR   OF   THE   CHURCH  OF   THE 

HOLY   COMFORTER,  POUGHKEEPSIE,  NEW  YORK, 

WHOSE    SERVICES    THROUGHOUT    LIFE, 

NO     LESS     DEVOTED     THAN     THOSE     OF 

HIS      ILLUSTRIOUS      ANCESTOR,       HAVE 

BEEN    IN    THE   GREAT   NAVY 

OF    THE     CHURCH     OF    GOD 


CONTENTS 


PART  PAGE 

I    Early  Life 1 


II   Robert  Fulton  in  France      ....      59 


III    The  Trial  Boat  on  the  Seine    .      .      .107 


IV    The  "Clermont^' 177 


Appendix 301 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Robert  Fulton Frotitispiece 

Farm-house  at  Little  Britain,  Pennsylvania,  the  Birth- 
place of  Robert  Fulton 5 

Robert  Fulton,  Sr.,  and  IMary  Smith  Fulton,  the  Pa- 
rents of  Robert  Fulton 16 

Miniatures  Painted  by  Robert  Fulton 27 

Charles,  Third  Earl  of  Stanhope 4.3 

Robert  Fulton— Painted  by  Himself 54. 

Plan  in  Water-color  for  a  High-level  Canal   ....  69 

Facsimile  of  a  Part  of  the  First  Page  of  Fulton's  Let- 
ter to  the  Citizens  Monge,  La  Place,  and  Volney  85 

Three  Views  of  the  Bust  of  Robert  Fulton  by  Houdon  103 

Robert  Fulton 114 

Fulton's  First  Plan  for  Steam  Navigation     .     .     .     .  131 

Fulton's  First  Prophecy  of  Steam  Navigation  on  the 

Hudson 141 

An    American    Lithograph    Entitled,     "  Fulton    and 

Napoleon  in  1804" 161 

Joel  Barlow 170 

Chancellor  Robert  R.  Livingston 183 

ix 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


"Plate  the  First":  Fulton's  Desij^n  of  Orip:inal  Ap- 
paratus for  Determining  the  Resistance  of  Paddles 
for  the  Propulsion  of  the  Clermont,  Dated  1806    .     193 

"Plate  i."     Fulton's  Preliminary  Study  for  the  CUr- 

vionfs  Engine 200 

Fulton's  Inkstand 205 

Compass  Used  by  Pilot  Acker  on  the  Clermont      .     .     205 

Mrs.  Walter  Livingston  (Cornelia  Schuyler),  Mother 

of  Mrs.  Robert  Fulton 215 

Robert  Fulton 229 

Statue  of  Robert  Fulton  at  the  Fulton  Ferry-house, 

Brooklyn,  New  York        244 

Fulton  Medal.      Struck  after  the  Inventor's  Death  in 

1815 261 

Facsimile  of  Regulations facing  page     268 

A  Modern  Steamboat  on  the  Hudson  River  and  the 

Clermont 291 

Fulton's  Drawing  for  a  Steamboat  .submitted  .to  the 

Commission  appointed  by  Napoleon  in  IHO.'J    .     .     336 

A.  Fulton's  Plan  of  the  Machinery  of  the  North  River 
(the  Remodeled  Clermont) 346 

B.  Fulton's  Elevation  of  Plan  A 347 

C.  Fulton's  Plan  of  a  Later  Steamboat,  showing  Ap- 
plication of  the  Square  Side-connecting-rod  En- 
gine, the  Invention  of  which  he  ascribes  to  John 
Stevens 348 

D.  Fulton's  Elevation  of  Plan  C 349 

X 


PREFACE 

An  explanation  seems  necessary  for  doing 
again  a  deed  already  well  done.  Several 
biographies  of  Robert  Fulton  have  been 
written:  Cadwallader  D.  Colden,  James 
Renwiek,  J.  F.  Reigart,  Robert  H.  Thurs- 
ton, Thomas  W.  Knox, and  Peyton  F.Mil- 
ler have  successively  interpreted  the  life  of 
the  inventor,  and  to  them  I  would  acknow- 
ledge a  debt  of  interest  and  illumination. 
But  in  no  volume  can  be  found  so  full  a 
quota  of  Robert  Fulton's  own  descriptive 
plans  for  his  inventions  as  are  here  pre- 
sented. During  a  research  extending  over 
three  years  I  have  been  able  to  transcribe 
many  of  Fulton's  unique  and  original 
xi 


PREFACE 

records,   and  to  secure  reproductions  of 
interesting  portraits  of  or  by  him. 

For  access  to  these  manuscripts  and  pic- 
tures, or  for  copies  of  them,  I  am  indebted 
to  the  estate  of  Fulton's  daughter,  Corneha 
Livingston  Crary ;  to  JNIrs.  Robert  Fulton 
Blight;  to  ^Ir.  R.  Fulton  Ludlow;  to 
Judge  Peter  T.  Barlow;  to  John  Henry 
Livingston,  Esq.,  of  Clermont;  to  Earl 
Stanhope  of  England;  to  Mr.  H.  Harri- 
son Suplee,  Editor  of  "Cassier's  Maga- 
zine"; to  JNIr.  S.  W.  Stanton,  Editor  of 
"The  Nautical  Gazette";  to  J.  Eliot 
Hodgkin,  F.S.A.,  of  London,  England ;  to 
Mr.  Frank  E.  Kirby,  Naval  Architect; 
to  Mr.  E.  C.  Eldridge  of  Paris,  France; 
to  Mr.  C.  H.  Hart,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Bradford, 
Miss  Elizabeth  G.  Sparks,  Mrs.  Joseph 
Drexel,  and  Mrs.  McHenry,  of  Philadel- 
xii 


PREFACE 

phia;  to  Mr.  H.  A.  Boardman  of  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota ;  to  Dr.  Thomas  Addis  Emmet 
of  New  York;  to  Mr.  Charles  Burr  Todd, 
biographer  of  Joel  Barlow ;  to  Mr.  Joseph 
Swift  of  Little  Britain,  Pennsylvania;  to 
the  Misses  Vinton  of  Pomfret,  Connecti- 
cut; to  ]Mr.  R.  Livingston  Jenkins,  Mr. 
J.  Seymour  Bullock,  INIr.  Edward  Bring- 
hurst,  Rev.  Wm.  B.  Gilpin,  Mr.  W.  U. 
Hensel,  Mr.  Henry  B.  Bayer,  Mrs.  E. 
Harrison  Sanford;  J.  H.  Leamont,  Esq., 
of  Montreal;  Mr.  Herman  Livingston  of 
Catskill;  and  to  the  authorities  of  the 
Lenox  Library,  the  Library  of  Congress, 
the  Boston  Public  Library,  the  Historical 
Societies  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  and  Chicago;  the  National  Acad- 
emy of  Design;  the  Pennsylvania  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  Arts;  the  British  JNIuseum; 
xiii 


PREFACE 

the  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers, 
New  York;  Haverford  College  and  Co- 
lumbia University. 

Robert  Fulton  anticipated  the  enlight- 
enment of  this  century.  He  emphasized 
truths  which  prevail  to-day  and  are  termed 
modern:  a  hope  for  Universal  Peace;  a 
claim  for  Intellectual  Freedom  through  a 
system  of  general,  free  education;  a  dis- 
cernment that  a  Nation's  wealth  is  the  sum 
of  the  talents  and  handiworks  of  its  citi- 
zens ;  and  a  sacrifice  of  any  personal  claim 
to  leisure  that  through  labor  a  world  might 
be  served; — these  were  the  ruling  motives 
of  his  life. 

He  was  an  artist  with  unbounded  de- 
light in  the  glories  of  color  and  form;  he 
was  an  engineer  and  inventor,  with  pa- 
tience developing  a  knowledge  of  un- 
xiv 


PREFACE 

known  powers  awaiting  human  control; 
he  was,  through  all,  an  American  states- 
man who,  although  he  lived  for  years 
amidst  the  cultivation  and  advanced  intel- 
lectual attainment  of  France  and  Eng- 
land, was  glad  to  return  to  his  native  land 
to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  his  final  dis- 
covery in  science  and  to  launch  his  first 
steamboat  upon*  the  waters  of  the  New 
World. 

If  it  be  true  that  Fulton  lived  one  hun- 
dred years  before  his  time,  the  centennial 
of  his  achievement  fulfils  the  span  neces- 
sary for  human  recognition ;  and  America 
will  welcome  the  recital  of  the  purposes  of 
his  life  in  these  original  papers  which  por- 
tray, not  solely  his  inventions,  but  his 
spirit  of  true  liberty. 

Alice  Crary  Sutcliffe. 

XV 


PART  I 
EARLY  LIFE 


ROBERT  FULTON  AND 
THE  "CLERMONT" 


ROBERT  FULTON  was  born  at 
>  Little  Britain,  Lancaster  County, 
Pennsylvania,  November  14,  1765.  Pre- 
vious biographers  have  called  him  "a  self- 
made  man,"  and  have  made  brief  allusion 
to  his  parentage.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
his  father,  the  senior  Robert  Fulton,  in  a 
failure  to  leave  financial  patrimony  to  his 
children,  has  not  been  accorded  the  men- 
tion of  other  achievements,  not  slight  in 
those  primitive  days.  His  ancestors 
were  of  Saxon  origin,  having  crossed 
from  Scotland  to  Ireland  at  an  early  date. 
From  Kilkenny,  the  Fulton  family  came 
3 


ROBERT  FULTON 

to  America  before  the  year  1735.  The 
senior  Robert  Fulton  was  among  the 
prominent  men  of  Lancaster,  his  name 
having  been  on  record  upon  all  the  town 
organizations  which  existed  at  that  period/ 
He  married  Miss  Mary  Smith,  a  sister  of 
Colonel  Robert  Smith  of  Chester  County. 
They  Avere  the  children  of  Joseph  Smith  of 
Oxford  township,  Pennsylvania,  whose 
will,  dated  May  22,  1760,  bequeathed  "To 
my  beloved  Daughter,  Mary,  wife  of  Rob- 
ert Fulton,  the  simi  of  Five  Pounds,  to  be 
levied  off  my  Estate." 

On  August  23,  1759,  the  elder  Robert 
Fulton  bought  the  brick  dwelling-house 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Penn  Square, 
afterward  known  as  Center  Square,  in 
the   town   of   Lancaster.     Two   children, 

1  He  was  a  founder  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Union  Fire  Company,  and  a  charter  member 
of  the  Juliana  Library  of  Lancaster,  the  third  library  estab- 
lished in  the  American  Colonies.     (1763). 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

daughters,  were  born  in  this  house,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fulton  Hved  there  until 
1765.  On  November  8,  1764,  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  of  393%  acres,  situated  on 
the  Conowingo  Creek,  in  Little  Britain 
township,  and  during  the  following  spring 
moved  his  family  to  the  farm-house  which 
is  still  standing  at  the  country  cross-roads. 
There  Robert  Fulton  the  inventor  was 
born. 

In  1844  the  township  of  Little  Britain 
was  resurveyed,  and  a  new  section  was  set 
aside,  to  be  known  as  "Fulton  Town- 
ship," in  honor  of  the  child  who  lived 
for  the  first  few  months  of  his  eventful 
life  within  its  quiet  borders.  The  farm- 
house which  sheltered  his  infancy  was  built 
of  plastered  stone,  two  stories  high,  and  at 
one  end  the  roof  sloped  to  a  low  porch. 

Robert  Fulton's  father  was  not  a 
successful  farmer;  perchance  he  yearned 
7 


ROBERT  FULTON 

for  the  companionship  of  his  Lancaster 
friends.  One  thing  is  certain:  during  the 
following  year  he  and  his  wife  mortgaged 
the  property,  and  moved  back  to  the  town 
of  Lancaster. 

Not  long  ago  the  present  owner  rebuilt 
the  house  and  the  old  section  of  the 
homestead  was  encompassed  by  the  new. 
The  two  parlors,  low-ceiled  and  broad,  re- 
main ;  and  in  one  of  these  rooms,  formerly 
the  kitchen,  the  original  fireplace  is  intact, 
the  crane  still  swinging  within  the  sooted 
inclosure  where  Robert  Fulton's  father 
laid  the  logs  so  many  years  ago.  Above 
the  parlor  is  the  room  where  the  inventor 
was  born.  Only  the  broad  window-sills 
show  age;  the  remainder  of  the  house  is 
placidly  and  emphatically  modern. 

Joseph  Swift,  a  cousin  of  Robert  Ful- 
ton, in  writing  years  ago  from  Philadel- 
phia, said  that  his  grandfather  well 
8 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

remembered  in  his  youth  "the  great  prep- 
arations which  a  visit  to  Aunt  Fulton 
required  in  the  way  of  baking,  boiHng,  and 
roasting,  and  in  getting  ready  the  camp 
equipage  which  the  journey  through  the 
wilderness  required.  It  was  only  less 
formidable  than  a  journey  across  the  At- 
lantic." 

FRIENDSHIP  WITH  THE  FAMILY  OF  WEST 

The  father  of  the  celebrated  artist  Een- 
jamin  West  lived  in  the  adjoining  county 
of  Chester,  and  was  an  intimate  friend 
of  the  senior  Robert  Fulton.  The  inter- 
esting portraits  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ful- 
ton, here  for  the  first  time  reproduced, 
have  unique  value,  in  that  they  are 
among  the  earliest  known  works  of  the 
young  artist,  who  later  attained  distinc- 
tion as  President  of  the  Royal  Academy 
9 


ROBERT  FULTON 

of  London.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years, 
West  had  gained  local  fame  as  an  artist, 
and  was  invited  to  visit  Lancaster  to  paint 
the  portraits  of  Mrs.  Ross  and  her  chil- 
dren, famous  beauties  of  the  day.  The 
father's  permission  was  obtained,  and 
West  came  to  Lancaster,  and  executed 
his  task  with  such  a  degree  of  success  that 
he  could  with  difficulty  find  time  to  fill  the 
orders  which  poured  in  upon  him.  It  is 
recorded  that  he  received  his  first  payment 
in  exchange  for  drawings  made  on  poplar 
boards,  and  that  he  for  some  time  continued 
to  paint  portraits  in  Lancaster.  The  Ful- 
ton portraits  were  found  many  years  ago 
in  the  attic  of  an  old  house  in  Lancaster 
County,  and  were  thought  by  the  owner  to 
be  representations  of  the  inventor  and  his 
wife.  This  is  manifestly  impossible,  not 
only  from  their  lack  of  resemblance  to  other 
authenticated  portraits,  but  also  because 
10 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

of  the  discrepancy  in  the  date  of  the  signa- 
ture, which  is  "B.  West  175-,"  the  last 
figure  being  indistinct.  It  is  therefore  con- 
cluded that  they  are  the  only  known  rep- 
resentations of  the  father  and  mother  of 
the  inventor.  The  daily  sight  of  these 
portraits  in  his  home,  and  the  knowledge 
of  the  success  of  his  energetic  young 
neighbor  Benjamin  West,  may  have 
proved  the  inspiration  of  Robert  Fulton's 
subsequent  study  and  love  of  art. 

In  1756,  Benjamin  West's  mother  died, 
and  he  went  to  reside  in  Philadelphia,  al- 
though it  is  probable  that  he  frequently 
returned  for  visits  in  Lancaster.  It  is 
known  that  he  painted  signs  for  local 
taverns,  and  some  of  these  have  been  pre- 
served by  collectors.  In  Philadelphia  he 
gained  reputation  as  an  artist,  and  an  in- 
creased patronage.  For  his  portraits,  at 
this  time,  he  received  two  and  a  half 
11 


ROBERT  FULTON 

guineas  for  a  head,  and  five  guineas  for  a 
half-length.  Desirous  to  increase  his 
prices,  he  went  to  New  York  for  a  period 
of  eleven  months,  where  he  executed  many 
portraits. 

The  elder  Robert  Fulton  was  an  ardent 
Presbyterian.  A  letter  from  Edward 
Burd  of  Philadelphia  to  William  Rawle, 
published  in  the  "Pennsylvanian  Maga- 
zine," concludes  with  these  words:  "Hav- 
ing lived  in  Lancaster  till  I  was  eleven 
years  of  age,  I  recollect  that  the  father  of 
the  famous  Robert  Fulton,  who  had  a 
sonorous  and  stentorian  voice,  used  to  raise 
the  Psalm  in  the  Court  House,  where 
Presbyterians  occasionally  preached."  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Lancaster.  His  death 
occurred  in  1768. 

In  Delaplaine's  "Repository,"  which 
may  be  seen  at  the  Lenox  Library,  New 
12 


AND  THE    'CLERMONT" 

York,    the   writer   on   "Robert   Fulton" 
states : 

Although  highly  respectable,  the  elder  Fulton 
was  far  from  opulent,  and  the  small  fortune 
he  left  at  his  death  was  to  be  divided  between 
his  widow  and  five  children.  The  patrimony 
of  Robert  was,  therefore,  but  slender.  To  this 
circumstance,  however,  he  never  looked  back 
with  the  false  shame  of  common  minds,  but 
rather  rejoiced  on  being  considered,  as  he  really 
was,  the  founder  of  his  fortune. 


ANECDOTES  OF  EARLY  LIFE 

There  are  several  anecdotes  which  relate 
to  Robert  Fulton's  early  interest  in  me- 
chanics— the  first  steps  of  progress  toward 
his  later  skill.  In  1773,  when  he  was  eight 
years  old,  his  mother,  having  previously 
taught  him  to  read  and  write,  sent  him  to 
a  school  kept  by  Mr.  Caleb  Johnson,  a 
Quaker  gentleman  of  pronounced  Tory 
13 


ROBERT  FULTON 

principles — so  pronounced,  in  fact,  that 
he  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life  during 
the  Revolution.  But  Robert  Fulton  did 
not  care  for  books,  and  he  began  at  a  very 
early  age  to  search  for  problems  never 
mastered  and  bound  in  print.  This  greatly 
distressed  the  Quaker  teacher,  who  spared 
not  the  rod ;  and  it  is  said  that  in  adminis- 
tering such  discipline  on  the  hand  of  Rob- 
ert Fulton,  one  day  he  testily  exclaimed: 
"There,  that  will  make  you  do  some- 
thing!" To  which  Robert,  with  folded 
arms,  replied:  "Sir,  I  came  to  have  some- 
thing beaten  into  my  brains,  and  not  into 
my  knuckles."  Without  doubt  he  was  a 
trial  to  his  teacher. 

He  entered  school  one  day  very  late, 
and  when  the  master  inquired  the  reason, 
Robert,  with  frank  interest,  replied  that 
he  had  been  at  Nicholas  Miller's  shop 
pounding  out  lead  for  a  pencil.  "It 
14 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

is  the  very  best  I  ever  had,  sir,"  he 
affirmed,  as  he  displayed  his  product. 
The  master,  after  an  examination  of  the 
pencil,  pronounced  it  excellent.  When 
Robert's  mother,  who  had  been  distressed 
by  his  lack  of  application  to  his  studies, 
expressed  to  the  teacher  her  pleasure  at 
signs  of  improvement,  the  latter  confided 
to  her  that  Robert  had  said  to  him:  "My 
head  is  so  full  of  original  notions  that  there 
is  no  vacant  chamber  to  store  away  the 
contents  of  dusty  books." 

These  incidents  to  the  contrary,  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  Robert  Fulton  did 
absorb  a  good  knowledge  of  the  rudiments 
of  education. 

In  1777,  Congress  held  session  in  the 
old  court  house  at  Lancaster,  and  during 
this  time  the  town  became  famous  as  a 
depot  of  supplies  for  the  American  forces. 
Rifles,  blankets,  and  clothing  were  manu- 
17 


ROBERT  FULTON 

factured  there,  powder  for  the  troops 
was  stored  in  the  town,  and  in  that  year 
a  certain  Paul  Zantzinger  furnished  Gen- 
eral Wayne's  men  with  650  suits  of  uni- 
form. 

Andre's  parole 

During  the  autumn  of  1775,  Major  John 
Andre,  while  on  his  way  to  Quebec,  was 
captured  by  General  Montgomery,  and 
with  other  officers,  taken  to  Lancaster. 
He  was  granted  local  freedom  on  the  fol- 
lowing parole : 

I,  John  Andre,  being  a  prisoner  in  the  TJnited 
Colonies  of  America,  do,  upon  the  honor  of  a 
gentleman,  promise  that  I  will  not  go  into  or 
near  any  seaport  town,  nor  farther  than  six 
miles  from  Lancaster,  without  leave  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  or  the  Committee  of  Safety 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  I  will  carry  on  no 
political  correspondence  whatever  on  the  sub- 

18 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

ject  of  the  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  Colonies  so  long  as  I  remain  a  prisoner. 


Upon  these  conditions,  Major  Andre 
became  an  inmate  in  the  house  of  Caleb 
Cope,  and  was  tutor  to  John  Cope,  then 
thirteen  years  of  age.  Major  Andre  had  a 
talent  for  art,  and  made  a  dainty  sketch  of 
a  scene  in  England,  probably  near  his 
early  home.  The  drawing  was  in  tints  of 
green;  a  church  spire  in  the  background, 
and  in  the  front,  the  heavy  foliage  of  trees 
embowered  a  lodge.  He  gave  this  picture 
to  Mr.  Cope,  who  treasured  it  and  wrote 
of  it  in  these  words:  "In  memory  of  the 
artist  and  of  my  affection  for  that  gifted 
and  deceived,  that  noble-hearted  and  gen- 
erous man."  Mr.  Cope  had  five  sons,  of 
whom  John  was  the  eldest.  Andre  gave 
lessons  in  art  to  his  young  pupil,  and  also 
to  Benjamin  T.  Barton,  who  became  a 
19 


ROBERT  FULTON 

clever  draftsman.  The  prisoner  also 
played  marbles  and  other  boyish  sports 
with  his  young  friends.  Robert  Fulton 
was  then  eleven  years  old  and  eager  for 
every  form  of  activity.  It  is  quite  possible 
that  when  the  Cope  boys  received  their  les- 
sons in  art,  Robert  may  also  have  been  in- 
cluded in  the  class  and  thus  profited  from 
the  excellent  tutor. 

At  a  very  early  age,  a  love  of  art  be- 
came to  Robert  a  profound  delight.  One 
of  his  classmates  in  the  Lancaster  school- 
house  told,  in  after  years,  an  interesting 
story  of  those  days.  He  had  an  older 
brother,  he  said,  who  was  fond  of  paint- 
ing, and  had  learned  the  art  of  mixing 
and  preparing  colors,  whicli  he  displayed 
upon  mussel  shells.  The  War  of  the 
Revolution  at  that  time  made  it  difficult 
to  obtain  painting  materials  from  abroad, 
and  few  people  had  money  or  thought  for 
20 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

such  quiet  pastimes.  This  painting  outfit 
fell  into  the  possession  of  the  younger 
brother,  who  carried  it  to  school  and 
showed  it  to  Robert  Fulton.  Immediately 
the  latter  pleaded  for  a  share,  and  his  pro- 
ductions were  so  superior  to  those  of  the 
donor  that  the  entire  outfit  was  ultimately 
given  to  him. 

"quicksilver  bob" 

Fulton  was  nicknamed  by  his  comrades 
"Quicksilver  Bob,"  because  of  his  frequent 
purchases  of  the  illusive  and  glittering 
metal,  used  by  him  in  experiments  which 
he  declined  to  describe.  Before  this  time 
he  had  drawn  designs  for  firearms  and 
had  become  expert  in  experimenting  with 
them  in  order  to  determine  the  compara- 
tive carrying  distance  of  different  bores 
and  balls.  He  is  known  to  have  manu- 
2  21 


ROBERT  FULTON 

factured  an  air-gun  in  the  year  1779,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  its  success.  The  firm 
of  Isch  and  INIessersmith  were  employed 
by  the  Continental  authorities  to  make  and 
repair  arms  for  the  troops.  Guards  were 
stationed  at  the  doors  of  their  shops,  and 
to  fill  the  orders  the  workmen  labored 
night  and  day  and  also  on  Sundays,  a  rare 
trespass  upon  sacred  time  in  those  days. 
"Quicksilver  Bob"  came  and  went  daily 
among  the  workmen,  and  it  has  been  said 
that  his  mechanical  judgment  was  so 
highly  prized  that  his  suggestions  and 
drawings  were  frequently  followed.  It  is 
asserted  that  he  also  painted  signs  for  the 
village  taverns  and  shops,  as  did  his  fa- 
mous predecessor,  Benjamin  West. 

In   1779,   when   Robert   was   fourteen 

years  of  age,  he  formed  a  friendship  with 

Christopher  Gumpf,  an  apprentice  in  the 

machine-shop  of  Mr.  Messersmith.    Chris- 

22 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

topher  was  eighteen  years  old.  His  father, 
Deter  Gumpf,  an  experienced  fisherman 
in  the  quiet  waters  of  the  Conestoga 
Creek,  used  to  take  Christopher  and  Rob- 
ert with  him,  and  the  boys  would  pole  the 
flat-bottomed  boat  from  place  to  place, 
over  the  good  fishing-grounds.  The  ex- 
ercise was  severe,  for  the  boat  was  cum- 
bersome. Robert  and  Christopher  agreed 
that  they  were  tired  of  the  work.  About 
this  time  Robert  went  to  Little  Britain 
township  for  a  brief  visit  with  his  aunt; 
and,  during  his  absence  from  the  machine- 
shops,  he  busied  himself  with  the  manu- 
facture of  a  small  working  model  of  a 
fishing-boat  to  be  propelled  by  paddles. 
He  left  this  model  in  his  aunt's  attic  with 
the  request  that  it  be  kept,  and  in  subse- 
quent years  it  was  an  object  of  curiosity 
in  the  old  lady's  parlor.^     When  Robert 

1  Repeated  inquiries  have  failed  tolocatethis  interesting  relic. 

23 


ROBERT  FULTON 

returned  to  Lancaster,  he  made  a  set  of 
paddle-wheels  for  JNIr.  Gumpf's  boat,  to 
be  operated  by  a  double  crank  motion. 
He  tried  this  invention  on  the  Conestoga 
River,  opposite  Rockford,  and  found  it  so 
satisfactory  that  it  was  used  in  subsequent 
fishing-trips. 

At  one  time  in  1777,  as  many  as  2000 
British  prisoners  were  quartered  at  Lan- 
caster, and  the  natives  greatly  feared  an 
outbreak.  The  privates  were  kept  at  bar- 
racks, and  the  British  officers  lodged  at 
public  or  private  houses.  The  prisoners 
fared  poorly  enough  at  times.  One  day 
rations  were  cut  off  from  the  women  and 
children,  and  they  were  forced  to  appeal 
for  relief  from  starvation.  The  Hessians, 
some  of  whom  had  their  Muves  with  them, 
occupied  square  huts  of  mud  and  sod. 
Their  strange  encampment  was  naturally 
attractive  to  the  boys  of  the  village,  and 
24 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Robert  Fulton's  ready  pencil  caricatured 
them. 

FULTON 'S  CAREER  AS  ARTIST 

At  the  age  of  seventeen,  Fulton  left  Lan- 
caster to  seek  his  fortune,  and  took  up  his 
residence  in  Philadelphia  as  a  painter  of 
portraits  and  miniatures.  His  papers  are 
singularly  devoid  of  reference  to  these 
years.  He  was  never  retrospective,  but 
eager  for  new  accomplishment.  Life  of- 
fered him  delights  in  art  and  science,  and 
his  industry  appears  to  have  made  alter- 
nate choice  in  these  fields  of  thought  and 
enterprise.  His  energy  was  indefatigable ; 
he  not  only  earned  his  own  living,  but  sent 
remittances  to  his  mother  in  Lancaster. 
He  apparently  seized  upon  any  form  of 
employment  which  could  be  secured  by 
personal  endeavor.  He  is  known  to  have 
drawn  plans  for  machinery,  which  he  sub- 
25 


ROBERT  FULTON 

mitted  to  various  shops;  he  designed  car- 
riages and  buildings,  and  at  the  same  time 
worked  at  his  regular  profession  as  a 
painter.  White's  Directory  of  the  City  of 
Philadelphia  for  1785  has  this  entry: 

"Fulton,  Robert:  Miniature  Painter. 
Corner  of  2nd  &  Walnut  Streets." 

A  diligent  search  has  brought  to  light 
several  examples  of  Fulton's  art,  which, 
by  kind  permission  of  the  several  owners, 
are  here  reproduced  for  the  first  time. 

His  success  during  the  subsequent 
four  years  in  Philadelphia  was  due  to  in- 
domitable perseverance,  aided  by  the 
charm  of  an  attractive  personality.  He 
seems  to  have  possessed  a  positive  faculty 
for  friendships,  and  his  choice,  determined 
by  social  rather  than  sordid  considera- 
tions, speedily  won  patronage.  He  en- 
joyed a  personal  friendship  with  Benjamin 
Franklin,  who  favored  him  with  unusual 
attention  and  kindness. 
26 


( iwiied  liy  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts, 
Philadelphia 

MIXIATL'Rli  OF  CLEMENTINA  ROSS  MINIATl'KE  OF  SAMUEL  BEACH 


Owned  liy  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society 
MK.  AM)  MRS.  JOHN  WILKES  KITTERA 


MIMATIKIIS  PAlNTIiU  UY  KOHliKT   1  I  LliiN 


I 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT'* 

After  a  severe  attack  of  pulmonary- 
trouble,  which  gave  evidences  of  a  ten- 
dency toward  a  hasty  decline,  Fulton  de- 
cided, upon  expert  advice,  to  seek'  the 
recovery  of  his  health  at  the  famous 
springs  of  Virginia.  At  this  then  fash- 
ionable place  of  resort,  he  formed  friend- 
ships with  several  persons  of  wise 
judgment,  and  through  their  recommen- 
dation, and  his  own  personal  desire  to 
seek  out  and  profit  by  a  study  of  the  art 
treasures  of  Europe,  he  began  to  arrange 
his  affairs  for  a  voyage  to  the  Old  World. 

In  ill  health,  and  desiring  to  provide  a 
permanent  home  for  his  mother  and  sis- 
ters, he  invested  his  savings  of  more  than 
four  hundred  dollars  in  a  farm  in  the 
township  of  Hopewell,  Washington 
County,  Pennsylvania.  The  adjacent 
town  of  Washington  was  at  this  time  en- 
joying a  land  boom,  and  in  addition  to  the 
purchase  of  the  farm  for  his  mother, 
29 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Fulton  also  bought  four  lots  in  Wash- 
ington as  laid  out  by  Mr.  Hogl,  the 
pioneer  settler.  During  the  year  1793 
Fulton  wrote  from  London  to  Mr.  Hogl 
to  convey  deeds  for  three  of  these  lots  to 
his  sisters,  Mrs.  Mary  Morris/  Mrs.  Isa- 
bella Cook,  and  Mrs.  Peggy  Scott.  From 
this  fact  it  is  known  that  all  the  sisters  had 
married. 

In  1786,  Robert  Fulton  sailed  for  Eng- 
land, bearing  numerous  letters  of  intro- 
duction to  distinguished  Americans 
abroad.  Among  these,  a  letter  -from  his 
friend    and    patron    Benjamin    Franklin 

1  David  Morris,  husband  of  Mary  Fulton,  was  a  nephew 
of  Benjamin  West.     To  hira  Fulton  wrote  in  1793  : 

"  Your  Uncle  West  is  now  at  the  head  of  his  profession 
and  Presides  at  the  Royal  Academy  over  all  the  Painters  of 
England.  But  he  is  a  Great  Genius  and  merits  all  the  hon- 
our he  has  obtained — he  has  ste<adily  pursued  his  Course, 
and  Step  by  Step  at  length  Reached  the  Summit  where  he 
now  looks  round  on  the  beauties  of  past  Industry, — an  orna- 
ment to  Society  and  Stimulis  to  young  Men." 

Extract  from  a  lettp.r  ownnd  hy  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society. 

30 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

to  Benjamin  West,  the  Pennsylvania  ar- 
tist who  had  attained  high  honor  in  Lon- 
don, was  of  special  help  in  launching 
Fulton  in  the  art  circles  of  Europe.  The 
connection  between  the  West  and  Fulton 
families,  and  the  pronounced  similarity  of 
taste  and  .ambition,  attracted  them  to  an 
immediate  and  intimate  comradeship. 


EARLY  EXPERIMENTS  OF  WILLIAM  HENRY 
AND  JOHN  FITCH 

Fulton  must  already  have  been  familiar 
with  some  of  the  early  attempts  toward 
steam  navigation.  His  Lancaster  towns- 
man, William  Henry,  an  ingenious  gun- 
smith, during  a  visit  in  1760  to  England, 
had  applied  his  mind  toward  the  possi- 
bility of  using  a  Watt's  engine  in  the  pro- 
pulsion of  boats.  In  Bowen's  "Sketches 
of  Pennsylvania,"  it  is  asserted  that 
31 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Henry,  after  his  return  to  Lancaster, 
constructed  a  machine,  and  in  1763  at- 
tached it  to  a  boat.  He  made  an  experi- 
ment with  this  unique  craft  upon  the 
Conestoga  River,  but  by  a  mishap  the 
boat  became  disabled  and  sank.  He  after- 
ward constructed  a  second  model  with 
improvements,  and  in  1782  he  presented 
to  the  American  Philosophical  Society 
a  design  for  a  machine  with  steam  as 
motive  power.  An  intelligent  German, 
Herr  Shoepff,  who  visited  the  United 
States  in  1783,  while  in  Lancaster  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Henry,  and  was 
shown  a  machine  intended  for  the  pro- 
pulsion of  boats.  He  reported  that  Henry 
himself  had  been  doubtful  whether  such 
a  machine  would  find  favor  with  the  pub- 
lic, "as  every  one  considers  it  impracticable 
to  make  a  boat  move  against  wind  and 
tide."  But  Henry  was  credited  with  the 
32 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

assertion  that  "such  a  boat  will  come  into 
use  and  navigate  on  the  waters  of  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  rivers,"  although  the  time 
for  appreciation  and  apphcation  had  not 
yet  arrived. 

John  Fitch,  whose  name  is  also  right- 
fully honored  as  a  pioneer  experimenter 
in  steam  navigation,  was  a  frequent  visitor 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Henry  in  Lancaster. 
There  were  doubtless  discussions  between 
the  two  men  in  regard  to  the  project  which 
Henry  had  under  consideration.  On  the 
2d  of  December,  1785,  at  a  special 
meeting  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  John  Fitch  was  personally  pre- 
sented to  the  members,  and  consulted  a 
few,  including  Henry,  as  to  his  project. 

Of  Henry  and  Fitch,  and  of  Robert 

Fulton's  ultimate  success  in  solving  the 

problem  of  steam  navigation,  the  late  Dr. 

Robert  H.  Thurston,  former  Director  of 

33 


ROBERT  FULTON 

the  Department  of  INIechanical  Engineer- 
ing of  Cornell  University,  wrote : 

Fitch  evidently  made  the  first  successful  ex- 
periment in  the  propelling  of  boats  by  steam ; 
but  William  Henry  has  probably  the  honor  of 
originating  the  idea,  and  building  the  first 
steam-boat  ever  built  in  the  United  States. 
Fitch  improved  on  Mr.  Henry's  model,  and  Ful- 
ton improved  on  both.  .  .  .  Fulton  took  the 
products  of  the  genius  of  other  mechanics,  and 
set  them  at  work  in  combination,  and  then  ap- 
plied the  already  known  steam-boat  in  his  more 
satisfactorily  proportioned  form,  to  a  variety 
of  useful  purposes,  and  with  final  success.  It 
is  this  which  constitutes  Fulton's  claim  upon 
the  gratitude  and  the  remembrance  of  the 
nations.     And  it  is  quite  enough. 

At  the  time  of  his  visit  to  England, 
Robert  Fulton's  preferred  aim  was  art, 
though  his  active  mind  soon  began  to  busy 
itself  with  various  inventions.  West  was 
conspicuous  for  the  consideration  which 
he  showed  to  young  artists;  but  he  be- 
stowed unusual  favor  upon  Fulton,  who 
34 


.        Aim  THE  "CLERMONT" 

became  an  inmate  in  his  home.  During 
these  years  Fulton  worked  indefatigably 
at  his  art,  and  while  the  sum  of  his  works 
is  unknown,  records  of  a  few  of  his  paint- 
ings have  been  found.  There  is  mention 
in  the  Royal  Academy  catalogue  of  three 
portraits  as  having  been  on  exhibition,  as 
follows:  In  1791  "Portrait  of  a  Young 
Gentleman,"  and  "Portrait  of  Two 
Young  Gentlemen";  and  in  1793  "Por- 
trait of  a  Lady"  (Mrs.  Murray).  The 
same  year  he  also  exhibited  four  paintings, 
two  subject  pictures  and  two  anonymous 
portraits,  at  the  Society  of  Artists.^ 


FULTON  S  COUNTRY  TOUR  IN  ENGLAND 

James  Renwick,  in  his  "Biography  of 
Robert  Fulton,"  published  in  Jared 
Sparks's  "Library  of  American  Biogra- 

^  For  list  of  Fulton's  art  works,  see  Appendix,  page  354. 

35 


ROBERT  FULTON 

phy,"  is  the  only  historian  to  refer  to  an 
interesting  tour  made  about  this  time  by 
Fulton  among  the  castles  and  country- 
places  of  the  British  nobility  for  the  study 
of  their  artistic  treasures.  After  leaving 
London,  he  went  to  Exeter,  in  the  County 
of  Devon,  and  for  a  time  was  a  resident  of 
Powderham  Castle,  the  chief  seat  of  the 
Courtenays.  The  steward  of  the  estate, 
a  gentleman  by  birth  and  education,  en- 
tertained all  guests  without  court  rank, 
for  the  Baron  of  Powderham  lived  in  a 
degree  of  royal  exclusion.  During  Ful- 
ton's residence  at  the  castle,  he  occu- 
pied himself  with  the  copying  of  several 
famous  works  of  art.  To  his  titled  bene- 
factor Fulton  extended  a  gratitude  which 
was  later  put  to  the  test,  and  found  faith- 
ful. Professor  Renwick  tells  us,  in  some- 
what veiled  terms,  that  several  years  after 
Fulton  had  returned  to  America, 
36 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

the  heir  of  the  title  and  fortunes  of  the  Cour- 
tenays,  became  a  refugee  in  our  land  under 
circumstances  of  disgrace  and  humiliation.  .  .  . 
Every  door  was  closed  against  him  except  that 
of  Fulton.  The  feelings  of  Fulton  were  prob- 
ably those  which  lead  the  benevolent  to  minister 
to  the  comforts  and  to  soothe  the  mental  an- 
guish of  the  condemned  criminal ;  but  in  the 
instance  we  allude  to,  it  required  not  only  the 
existence  of  such  feelings,  but  a  high  degree  of 
courage  to  exercise  them,  in  the  face  of  a  popu- 
lar impression,  which,  whether  well  or  ill  founded, 
was  universally  entertained. 

During  Robert  Fulton's  sojourn  in 
Devonshire,  he  formed  friendships  with 
several  men  of  distinction,  and  it  is  said 
that  portraits  and  landscapes  painted  by 
him  at  this  period  are  to  be  found  in 
many  of  the  stately  homes  of  England. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  during  all 
these  years  he  was  supporting  himself  en- 
tirely by  his  own  efforts  with  palette  and 
brush. 

37 


146360 


ROBERT  FULTON 

In  Devonshire  he  won  the  personal  in- 
terest of  two  influential  peers  of  the  reahn, 
whose  scientific  investigations  were  a  keen 
joy  and  an  important  factor  in  defining 
his  subsequent  career.  These  men,  the 
Duke  of  Bridgewater  and  Earl  Stanhope, 
were  scientists  of  advanced  thought.  The 
former  had  inherited  a  vast  estate,  which, 
although  it  abounded  in  mineral  wealth, 
failed  to  render  an  adequate  financial 
return,  because  the  mines  were  inaccessible 
through  lack  of  a  proper  development  for 
the  transportation  of  their  output.  The 
growing  town  of  JNIanchester  had  need  of 
coal  for  its  manufactories,  and  there  was 
plenty  of  coal  in  the  lands  of  the  Duke  of 
Bridgewater.  But  all  products  had  to  be 
carried  from  the  estate  in  sacks  upon 
pack-horses.  The  duke,  therefore,  with 
the  aid  of  a  native  genius,  Brindley  by 
name,  whom  he  termed  his  engineer, 
.38 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

opened  canal  navigation  throughout  his 
lands.  This  was  attained  only  at  great 
cost  in  the  face  of  appalling  difficulties 
and  much  opposition.  It  is  said  that,  at 
one  time,  he  barely  escaped  confinement  as 
a  lunatic,  so  ridiculous  did  his  plans  ap- 
pear to  critical  friends  and  relatives.  At 
the  time  Fulton  met  him,  the  success  of  his 
canal  project  was  manifest,  and  he  was 
already  amassing  wealth  through  the  aid 
of  this  new  method  of  water  carriage. 
Similar  schemes  were  projected  through- 
out the  country,  and  the  duke  became  the 
proprietor  of  several  navigation  com- 
panies which  were  at  that  time  in  forma- 
tion to  construct  a  great  system  of 
waterways  through  England.  It  is 
thought  that  the  duke's  plans,  if  not  his 
solicitation,  had  much  to  do  with  Fulton's 
abandonment  of  art  for  civil  engineering ; 
for,  from  this  time  on,  his  thoughts  were 
'  39 


ROBERT  FULTON 

occupied  with  canal  navigation  and  allied 
subjects  of  practical  utility. 

With  the  Earl  of  Stanhope,  whose  tal- 
ent ran  to  mechanical  devices  and  scien- 
tific research,  Fulton  entered  into  a 
spirited  correspondence.  The  earl  was  an 
enthusiast;  his  inventions,  though  they 
bordered  on  great  discovery,  and  were 
based  upon  noble  aims,  were  never  car- 
ried to  a  degree  of  commercial  perfection. 
One  of  his  plans  was  for  the  application 
of  steam  to  navigation,  by  the  use  of  a 
ciu'ious  paddle,  resembling  the  webbed 
foot  of  a  waterfowl.  He  communicated 
his  ideas  on  this  subject  to  Fulton,  who 
showed  the  practical  impossibility  of  the 
project.  Cadwallader  D.  Golden  and 
Professor  Renwick  both  authoritatively 
stated  that  Fulton,  in  a  letter  written  dur- 
ing the  year  1793  from  Devonshire,  briefly 
gave,  in  exchange  for  the  earl's  impracti- 
40 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

cable  plan  for  steam  navigation,  the  very 
principles  of  his  own  later  application, 
which  afterward  was  successfully  demon- 
strated on  the  Hudson  River/  Earl  Stan- 
hope, however,  proceeded  with  his  own 
design,  and  in  an  experiment  made  at  the 
London  docks,  met  with  failure.  But  his 
generous  nature  continued  to  find  interest 
in  Fulton's  plans  and  aspirations,  and 
upon  several  subsequent  occasions  he  gave 
evidences  of  his  sincere  friendship  for  the 
American  inventor. 

From  Devonshire,  Fulton  went  to  Bir- 
mingham, where  he  took  up  his  residence. 
Although  his  name  does  not  appear  in  the 
list  of  engineers  who  were  engaged  upon 
the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  project  of 
building  canals  from  Birmingham  to  the 
chief  seaports,  there  is  little  doubt  that 
he  went  there  with  the  aim  of  studying 

^See  page  129. 

41 


ROBERT  FULTON 

the  new  enterprise.  It  is  asserted  by  sev- 
eral biographers  of  Fulton  that  during 
his  eighteen  months'  residence  in  Bir- 
mingham he  met  and  entered  into  confi- 
dential correspondence  with  Watt,  the 
inventor  of  the  steam  engine/  One  narra- 
tor states  that  Fulton  actually  superin- 
tended the  construction  of  an  engine, 
where  no  other  aid  could  be  obtained. 
This  friendship  has  been  questioned  by 
others,  whose  proof  against  it  lies  in  the 
fact  that  a  letter  from  Joel  Barlow  stated 
that  Fulton  had  never  met  Watt.  Mr. 
Golden  agrees  with  Renwick  that  as  early 
as  1793,  Fulton  had  turned  his  thoughts 
toward  steam  navigation  as  an  important 
possibility,  and  had  outlined  his  plan  for 
putting  it  in  practice,  and  this  fact  is  con- 

^  A  letter  recently  shown  to  the  Society  of  Naval  Archi- 
tects by  Sir  Frederick  BrarawcU  proves  that  Fulton  wrote 
to  order  an  engine  from  Watt  in  1794.  There  is  no  record 
that  the  order  was  filled.     See  Appendix,  page  303. 

42 


CHARIJ'S,  IHlkU   KARL   Uh    STANHul'li 
Painted  by  Robert  luUo.i.     Now  in  possession  of  Hermann  Livingston 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

clusively  proved  by  the  first  reproduction 
of  Fulton's  letter  to  the  earl  (see  p.  129) . 
But  these  dreams  did  not  keep  him  from 
the  development  of  other  practical  con- 
trivances. In  1794  he  secured  from  the 
British  government  a  patent  for  a  double 
inclined  plane  for  raising  and  lowering 
canal-boats,  and  also  received  from  the 
British  Society  of  Arts  and  Commerce 
the  thanks  and  an  honorary  medal  of  the 
society  for  a  submitted  invention  for  saw- 
ing marble.  About  the  same  period  he 
obtained  English  patents  upon  a  machine 
for  spinning  flax,  and  for  a  new  invention 
for  twisting  hemp  rope.  He  appears  to 
have  been  reaching  out  in  many  directions 
of  thought,  to  try  to  solve  some  industrial 
problem,  great  or  small;  but  his  energies 
were  chiefly  turned  toward  the  further 
development  of  canal  systems.  He  de- 
signed and  obtained  English  patents  for  a 
45 


ROBERT  FULTON 

dredging-machine  for  scooping  out  earth 
to  form  the  channels  for  canals  or  aque- 
ducts, and  later  patented  "The  Market  or 
Passage  Boat"  for  use  upon  canals;  and 
still  later,  a  "Dispatch  Boat,"  devised  for 
special  speed  in  transporting  goods  which 
required  expedition.  These  smaller  in- 
ventions, although  they  were  useful  at  the 
time  in  furthering  the  utility  of  canal 
navigation,  were  but  steps  toward  a 
greater  development  of  the  inventor's 
knowledge  of  practical  science.  The  dis- 
tinguished John  Owen,  founder  of  Eng- 
lish Socialism,  a  one-time  partner  of 
Fulton  in  the  enterprise  of  the  dredging- 
machine,  in  his  autobiography  tells  of  the 
interesting  fact  of  a  meeting  in  1794  be- 
tween his  friends,  Samuel  Taylor  Cole- 
ridge, the  poet,  and  Robert  Fulton,  whom 
he  terms  "the  famous  American  engineer 
and  inventor  and  introducer  of  the  steam- 
46 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

boat."  It  is  a  significant  coincidence  that 
the  author  of  "The  Ancient  Mariner" 
should  have  known  the  inventor  who  was 
so  soon  to  change  the  world's  methods  of 
navigation.  Fulton  answered  in  practical 
fashion  the  dreamy  question  of  the  poet, 

But  why  drives  on  that  ship  so  fast, 
Without  or  wave  or  wind? 

Fulton's  power  as  an  accurate  drafts- 
man enabled  him  to  describe  fully  upon 
paper,  with  accompanying  charts,  his 
various  models  of  inventions.  He  also 
made  copious  notes  upon  the  subjects 
which  he  had  in  mind,  and  later,  as 
his  ideas  matured,  he  wrote  essays  and 
pamphlets  upon  specific  subjects,  and 
sent  them,  with  accompanying  letters, 
to  those  persons  who  had  the  power  to 
promote  their  advancement.  In  1796  he 
published  "A  Treatise  on  Canal  Naviga- 
47 


ROBERT  FULTON 

tion,"*  illustrated  by  seventeen  plates,  and 
designed  to  show  "the  numerous  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  small  canals." 
The  title-page  indicated  that  the  author- 
ship was  "By  Robert  Fulton,  Civil  Engi- 
neer," his  first  public  use  of  that  signature. 
He  appears  to  have  entirely  abandoned  his 
painting  and  thereafter  to  have  used  his 
talent  for  art  solely  to  illustrate  his  ideas 
for  mechanical  contrivances. 

Throughout  the  succeeding  pages  he 
endeavored  to  show  the  advantages  of  a 
system  of  small  canals,  which,  if  intro- 
duced in  any  fertile  country,  would  in- 
crease the  financial  resources  of  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  inland  districts,  by  en- 
abling them  to  offer  their  farm  products 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  larger  coast 
towns.  He  acknowledged  that  his  first 
study  of  the  subject  of  canal  navigation 

^  See  Appendix,  page  304. 

48 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

was  inspired  by  the  reading  of  a  paper 
descriptive  of  a  canal  proposed  by  Earl 
Stanhope.  Fulton's  treatise  dealt  with 
the  practical  contrivances  necessary  for 
such  a  waterway,  and  described  his  pat- 
ents already  secured  for  the  easy  trans- 
portation of  boats  from  one  level  to 
another  by  use  of  inclined  planes. 

Fulton  did  not  confine  himself  to  a 
mere  recital  of  the  technicalities  of  his  in- 
vention; with  broad-minded  prophecy  he 
viewed  the  possibilities  of  canal  navigation 
as  contributing  to  the  best  form  of  polit- 
ical economy  for  any  nation  which  would 
adopt  it.  He  calculated  the  profits  to  be 
derived,  the  expenses  incident  to  the  de- 
velopment of  his  plan,  and  the  immense 
advantage  which  would  result  from  an 
enlarged  system  which,  like  arteries  of  the 
body,  would  unite  all  parts  of  the  country. 
He  especially  emphasized  the  advantages 
49 


ROBERT  FULTON 

which  America  would  gain  from  the  sys- 
tem. 

Fulton  sent  copies  of  his  treatise  to 
Governor  Mifflin  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to 
George  Washington,^  who  was  then  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  urging  their 
thoughtful  consideration  of  the  project. 
Washington  wrote  a  courteous  acknow- 
ledgment, but  there  is  no  record  of  official 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  govern- 
ment. 

The  "Treatise  on  Canals,"  with  Ful- 
ton's letter  to  Governor  Mifflin,  was  trans- 
lated into  French  and  published  in  Paris 
in  the  seventh  year  of  the  Republic.  It 
won  the  attention  of  many  engineers  and 
mechanicians,  but  apparently  produced  no 
large  constructive  results. 

Universal  free  trade  was  the  avowed 
motive  of  Fulton's  various  experiments, 
and    for    this    cause    he    wrote    several 

^See  Appendix,  page  306. 

50 


And  the  "CLERMONT" 

treatises  during  his  residence  in  Birming- 
ham and  later.  In  1795  he  published 
some  essays  on  canals  in  the  London 
"Morning  Star,"  and  two  years  later  ad- 
dressed a  paper  to  the  French  Directory 
which  he  entitled  "Thoughts  on  Free 
Trade. ' '  It  should  be  remembered  that 
only  a  short  time  before  Fulton's  removal 
to  Birmingham,  the  French  Revolution  had 
charged  two  nations  with  new  desires  for 
political  advancement.  This  great  histor- 
ical event  had  immense  weight  in  the  defi- 
nition of  Fulton's  subsequent  career. 

That  Fulton  was  studying  these  inter- 
national disputes  is  proved  by  an  extract 
from  a  letter  written  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  David  Morris,  in  1794.  It  is  pub- 
lished by  permission  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society: 

"As  to  Europe  it  is  all  in  alarm,  the 
united  efforts  of  England,  Prusia,  Spain, 
Holland,  Germany,  Rushia,  and  all  the 
51 


ROBERT  FULTON 

allied  Powers  have  not  been  able  as  Yet 
to  mount  Another  King  on  the  Back  of 
the  French  Nation.  It  is  almost  incred- 
ible with  what  Vigor  the  French  meet 
their  enemies,  while  Live  the  Republic  is 
the  Constant  Song;  and  Liberty  or  death 
their  Motto.  Thus  determined  to  Estab- 
lish Republickism  they  have  at  this  mo- 
ment, five  hundred  thousand  Men  under 
Arms,  Ready  for  the  ensuing  Campaign. 
The  Allies  Seeing  so  much  unshaken 
firmness  Ready  to  meet  them  begin  to 
despair  of  King  making,  And  think  it 
time  to  Look  to  their  own  Safety,  As  the 
discontented  enumerate  fast  in  all  the 
Belligerant  States,  the  People  Contem- 
plate the  Nature  of  a  Republic,  and  the 
more  they  think,  the  more  they  admire  it. 
When  a  Revolution  once  takes  place  in 
the  mind  it  will  Soon  make  its  appearance 
externaly.  And  I  Can  assure  you  there 
52 


l^OiiliKT  IL'I.TON 

Iruiii  Ihe  urigiiiHl  |jaiiitecl  t>y  hiiiibeiriii  1795,  iiuw 
owned  by  Mrs.  Koliert  1-ultoii  Blight 

This  portrait  was  purchased  from  the  authorities  of  Fultmi  Hall,  Lancaster,  I'enn.,  by  Koix 
I-ulton  Blight.     Il  was  exhibited  at  the  World's  I-air  in  Chicano,  and  at  the  request  of  Iht 
German  Consul  was  copied  by  Thomas  Anschut2  lor  the  Postal  Museum  at  Berlin 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

are  numbers  who  do  not  hesitate  to  say 
that  Monarchial  Governments  are  going 
out  of  Fashion.  Things  Being  thus  situ- 
ated it  is  the  report  of  the  day  that  the 
King  of  Prushia  has  withdrawn  from  the 
alliance.  The  Empres  of  Rushia  has  cer- 
tainly found  work  at  home  with  the  turks. 
And  thus  the  French  are  eased  of  two 
powerful  adversaries— how  things  will 
terminate  God  only  knows.  But  as  far  as 
Man  Can  penetrate  into  events  it  is  be- 
lieved the  French  will  prove  Successful 
and  establish  a  Republic,  the  Natural  Con- 
sequence will  be  Republicks  throughout 
Europe  (In  time.)  It  has  been  much 
Agitated  here  Whether  the  Americans 
would  Join  the  French.  But  I  Believe 
every  Cool  friend  to  America  Could  wish 
them  to  Remain  nuter.  The  americans 
have  no  troublesome  Neighbours,  they  are 
without  foreign  Possessions,  and  do  not 
55 


ROBERT  FULTON 

want  the  alliance  of  any  Nation,  for  this 
Reason  they  have  nothing  to  do  with  for- 
eign Politics.  And  the  Art  of  Peace 
Should  be  the  Study  of  every  young 
American  which  I  most  Sincerely  hope 
they  will  mentain" 

His  earliest  impressions  of  patriotism 
had  been  gained  during  the  struggle  for 
American  Independence,  and  the  reason- 
able and  sympathetic  minds  of  England 
and  America  were  excited  to  profound 
commiseration  over  the  unhappy  condi- 
tions resultant  from  the  misrule  of  the 
French  democracy.  The  unbiased  minds 
of  the  American  people  were  active  in  ob- 
servation; Fulton,  who  was  avowedly  a 
Republican,  shared  the  prevalent  sym- 
pathy for  the  oppressed.  But  in  1796 
the  excesses  of  the  French  Revolution  had 
ceased,  and  Great  Britain  commenced  an 
aggression  on  the  seas  through  wliich  the 
56 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

United  States  were  the  greatest  sufferers. 
Fulton  shared  the  resentment  which  Eng- 
land's attitude  excited  among  Americans 
and  set  himself  the  task  of  abolishing 
piracy  upon  the  seas.  Temporarily  he 
turned  his  attention  from  canal  structure 
to  the  study  of  a  new  weapon  designed  to 
provide  universal  peace;  and  this  resulted 
in  the  invention  of  the  torpedo,  a  work  of 
equal  magnitude  to  his  later  production, 
the  steamboat. 


57 


PART  II 
ROBERT  FULTON  IN  FRANCE 


IN  the  year  1797,  the  Earl  of  Mahnes- 
bury  went  to  Lille  to  propose  terms 
of  peace  between  England  and  France. 
During  that  neutral  period,  Fulton 
thought  that  he  saw  an  opportunity  to 
convey  to  the  world,  through  the  French 
Directory,  his  ideas  for  future  tranquil- 
lity, which  embraced  "a  Universal  better- 
ment of  Humanity,  through  a  constructive 
system  of  Canals,  and  a  destructive  system 
of  Torpedoes."  His  great  hope  for  uni- 
versal peace  led  him  to  dream  of  an 
ultimate  invention  which  should  set  at 
naught  the  oppression  of  maritime  influ- 
ences. He  planned  to  make  the  seas  and 
waters  open  channels  to  a  friendly  inter- 
course among  the  nations.  To  this  end, 
61 


ROBERT  FULTON 

without  abandoning  his  hope  of  canal 
structure  for  the  welfare  of  inland  dis- 
tricts, he  conceived  a  submarine  contri- 
vance, which  he  named  a  "Torpedo,"  that 
through  tremendous  explosive  force  might 
destroy  the  armaments  of  the  seas.  The 
French  statesman  Carnot,  an  inflexible 
republican,  formerly  Minister  of  War, 
was  then  an  executive  of  the  Directory, 
but  after  the  revolution  of  18  Fructidor 
he  was  obliged  to  flee  to  Germany.  Ful- 
ton had  reason  to  hope  that  he  would  be 
able  to  influence  Carnot,  who  was  already, 
through  correspondence,  his  personal 
friend. 

For  this  purpose,  and  with  the  hope  of 
perfecting  patents  in  France  for  his  in- 
ventions relative  to  canals,  Robert  Fulton 
journeyed  from  London  to  Paris.  He 
called  immediately  on  the  poet  and  diplo- 
mat Joel  Barlow,  to  whom  he  presented 
62 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

credentials,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  the 
same  hotel  where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barlow 
were  living.  Later,  when  the  Barlows 
opened  a  home  of  their  own,  they  invited 
Fulton  to  join  them.  A  rare  friendship 
between  the  two  men  ensued,  and  for  seven 
years  thereafter,  Fulton  resided  with  them. 
During  Fulton's  sojourn  in  France, 
Barlow  was  not  charged  with  American 
public  duties;  but  in  French  politics  he 
identified  himself  with  the  Girondist 
party,  and  was  not  without  political  in- 
fluence; Robert  Fulton  shared  his  enthu- 
siasm and  interest. 

Fulton's  panorama 

Fulton  invented  the  first  panorama  ever 
shown  in  Paris,  which  was  ready  to  be  ex- 
hibited about  the  year  1800.  A  wealthy 
American  had  purchased  a  large  tract  of 
63 


ROBERT  FULTON 

ground  in  a  central  position,  and  had  built 
upon  it  a  row  of  shops,  arranged  along 
two  sides  of  a  covered  cloister.  Upon  one 
section  of  this  property,  Fulton  suggested 
the  erection  of  two  lofty,  circular  build- 
ings, and  these  were  constructed  for  the 
exhibition  of  the  panorama.  The  venture 
attracted  great  attention  and  yielded  a 
substantial  profit.  It  was  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  suggest  the  name  of  the  street 
upon  which  it  was  reared,  and  to  this  day 
"Rue  des  Panorames"  serves  as  a  reminder 
of  Fulton's  production. 

The  subject  of  the  panorama,  recently 
discovered  upon  record  in  Paris,  was 
"I'lncendie  de  Moscow."  The  scenes 
depicted  were  obviously  those  of  one  of  the 
early  devastations  by  fire,  of  which  several 
are  recorded  in  history,  and  obviously  not 
that  later  famous  tragedy  of  1812.  It  is 
interesting  to  consider  that  many  of  the 
survivors  of  Napoleon's  army  of  invasion 


J 


AND  THE    'CLERMONT" 

and  retreat  may  have  looked  upon  the  can- 
vases whereon  Fulton  had  portrayed 
earlier  scenes  of  horror  and  devastation.^ 

Robert  Fulton  possessed  to  a  remarka- 
ble   degree    the    power    of    concentrated 

^  M.  Henry  B.  Bayer,  Special  Commissioner  to  the  United 
States  for  the  International  Maritime  Exposition  of  Bor- 
deaux, in  his  address  at  the  Jamestown  Exposition,  on 
Robert  Fulton  Day,  said  that  Fulton's  panorama  was  an 
exceptional  success.  The  people  were  so  attracted  to  the 
new  recreation  that  a  song  extolling  its  merits  became 
popular  throughout  France. 

One  verse,  with  translation,  follows : 

Paris  pas  plus  grand  que  cela, 
Jouit  de  succes  legitimes. 
Un  savant  vous  le  montrera. 
Pour  un  franc  cinquante  centimes. 
Et  tout  le  monde  donne  ou  donnera, 
Dans  le  pano,  pano,  panorama ! 

Paris  is  not  too  great 

To  enjoy  a  lawful  success. 

A  wise  man  will  show  it  to  you 

For  one  franc  and  fifty  centimes  (30  cents). 

And  everybody  is  giving  or  will  give 

To  the  pano — pano — panorama  ! 

Later  Colonel  Jean  Charles  Langlois,  the  painter  of  bat- 
tle scenes,  used  Fulton's  panorama  for  the  reproduction  of 
victories  of  the  French  Army. 

65 


ROBERT  FULTON 

thought.  He  studied  French,  Itahan,  and 
German,  and  acquired  a  proficiency  in  the 
three  languages;  higher  mathematics, 
physics,  chemistry,  and  perspective  also 
demanded  his  attention  as  he  progressed 
in  scientific  research.  It  is  known  that  he 
painted  several  portraits  while  in  Paris, 
and  one  of  these,  of  Joel  Barlow,  is  here 
reproduced.  He  mingled  with  the  promi- 
nent artists  of  the  day.^ 

But  just  at  that  period  canal  extension 
was  the  main  topic  of  his  thought.  To  this 
end  he  addressed  letters  explanatory  of  his 
project  to  men  of  distinction  in  America,^ 
France,  and  England.    Of  these,  the  let- 

1  Houdon,  the  great  French  sculptor  executed  an  admir- 
able bust  of  Fulton  which  was  shown  in  the  Salon  in  the  year 
IX,  and  Robert  Le  Fevre,  painter  to  the  King  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  painted  a  likeness  of  Fulton. 
A  beautiful  French  miniature  of  the  same  period  is  also  ex- 
tant, now  the  property  of  Mrs.  Joseph  Drexel,  of  Philadel- 
phia. 

2 See  Fulton's  letter  to  Washington,  Appendix,  page  306. 

66 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

ter  to  Washington  offers  indisputable 
proof  that  Fulton  was  the  first  to  suggest 
the  Erie  Canal.  The  claim  to  this  priority- 
has  been  disputed,  but  the  testimony  here 
recorded  seems  conclusive. 

In  the  Lenox  Library  may  be  found  the 
French  original  of  the  letter  which  ap- 
parently was  addressed  to  Bonaparte 
shortly  before  his  departure  for  Egypt/ 

Fulton's  torpedo 

As  early  as  December,  1797,  Fulton, 
aided  by  Barlow,  experimented  upon  a 
machine  designed  to  impart  motion  under 
water  to  "carcasses"  of  gunpowder.  An 
elongated  and  oval  construction  was  to  be 
forced  to  a  point  below  water,  and,  at  a 
calculated  time,  discharge  its  fire.  The 
project  contained  the  initial  idea  of  Ful- 

^See  Appendix,  page  313. 

67 


ROBERT  FULTON 

ton's  subsequent  invention  of  the  torpedo- 
boat,  but  at  that  time  the  test  failed  to  be 
satisfactory.  The  name  "torpedo,"  chosen 
by  Fulton  for  his  submarine  contrivance, 
has  since  been  given  to  all  similar  ma- 
chines.^ Sir  Thomas  Herbert,  the  English 
traveler  and  author,  had  written : 

The  Torpaedo  or  Cramp  Fish  came  also  to 
our  hands,  but  we  were  amazed  (not  knowing 
that  fish  but  by  its  quality)  when  a  sudden 
trembling  seazed  on  us ;  a  device  it  has  to  beget 
liberty,  by  evaporating  a  cold  breath  to  stupefie 
such  as  either  touch  or  hold  a  thing  that  touches 
it. 

After  the  first  failure,  with  charac- 
teristic hopefulness  Fulton  began  imme- 
diately to  formulate  a  variety  of  new 
experiments.     There  is  no  doubt  that  at 

^Fulton's  countryman,  David  Bushnell,  a  graduate  of 
Yale,  during  the  Revolution  had  invented  a  submarine 
"magazine"  which  by  means  of  clockwork  would  explode 
a  case  of  gunpowder  under  water  ;  but  the  attempts  to  use 
the  device  resulted  in  disappointment. 

68 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

this  time  he  vakied  the  torpedo  project 
with  more  favor  than  his  ah'eady  con- 
ceived idea  of  steam  navigation. 

On  August  28, 1798,  Mr.  Joshua  Gilpin ' 
of  London  said  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Stan- 
hope: "I  hear  from  France  that  Mr.  Ful- 
ton has  not  yet  gone  to  America;  and 
probably  it  may  be  some  time  before  he 
gets  away,  as  an  embargo  rests  on  our  ves- 
sels ;  besides  which  the  Government  and  he 
are  amusing  each  other  (I  think  however 
to  little  purpose)  on  his  new  invention  of 
the  submarine  boat.  I  fear  this  will  keep 
him  from  more  useful  pursuits."  Many  of 
Fulton's  friends  were  doubtful  of  the 
value  of  his  ventures.  That  the  rumor  of 
their  disapproval  reached  him  is  shown  by 

^Joshua  Gilpin,  born  in  Philadelphia  1765,  hved  in  Eng- 
land 1795-1801.  He  published  "  Memoir  of  a  Canal  from 
the  Chesapeake  to  the  Delaware,"  and  died  1840.  Fulton 
wrote  to  Gilpin  in  1798  that  his  (Fulton's)  plans  had  been 
adopted  for  the  Canal  from  Paris  to  Dieppe  and  Cambrai, 
the  only  known  record  of  his  engagement  in  this  project. 

71 


ROBERT  FULTON 

a  passage  in  a  letter^  dated  "Paris,  No- 
vember the  20th,  1798,"  to  Mr.  Gilpin, 
containing  a  reference  to  Mr.  Cartwright. 
Edmund  Cartwright,  an  English  clergy- 
man and  graduate  of  Oxford,  had  in  1785 
obtained  the  first  patent  for  a  power-loom 
for  the  weaving  of  cotton  cloth.  Two 
years  later  he  invented  a  wool-carding 
machine;  and,  in  1797,  a  steam-engine  in 
which  alcohol  was  used.  It  is  asserted  that 
he  "assisted  Robert  Fulton  in  his  experi- 
ments with  steamboats."  Joel  Barlow  also 
mentions  him,  in  a  letter  to  Fulton  in 
1802,  when,  after  an  interview  with  Mr. 
Livingston,  he  says  that  he  has  heard  un- 
favorable reports  about  Cartwright's  en- 
gine, and  doubts  whether  it  will  do  for  the 
proposed  steamboat.  "If  you  recur  to 
Watts,"  he  adds,  "it  is  probably  best  to  lay 
it  horizontal,  his  fears  with  regard  to  the 

^See  Appendix,  page  316. 

72 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

strain  on  the  boat  from  the  up-and-down 
stroke  are  not  without  foundation." 

The  letter  to  Joshua  Gilpin,  in  the  Ap- 
pendix and  never  before  published,  gives 
additional  proof  of  Robert  Fulton's  con- 
stancy to  his  country.  Those  who  have 
criticized  his  aim  of  securing  "a  lasting 
peace"  by  means  of  a  destructive  agent, 
the  torpedo-boat,  a  weapon  designed  to 
cause  wholesale  ruin  and  devastation, 
should  remember  that  he  was  animated  by 
the  hope  that  so  powerful  an  instrument 
in  the  hands  of  a  righteous  nation  would 
ultimately  put  an  end  to  all  w^arfare. 

Throughout  the  summer  of  1800,  Ful- 
ton was  at  Havre,  busily  engaged  upon 
experimental  work  with  his  torpedoes. 
Mrs.  Joel  Barlow,  on  medical  advice,  had 
gone  there  for  the  invigoration  of  the  sea 
air  and  baths.  Mr.  Barlow's  affairs  de- 
tained him  in  Paris,  and  his  letters  to  his 
73 


ROBERT  FULTON 

wife,  to  whom  he  was  devotedly  attached, 
contain  interesting  references  to  Fulton's 
submarine  projects.  Fulton  made  divers 
tests  with  his  torpedo-boats  against  the 
British  frigates  which  hovered  along  the 
coast.  The  situation  was  filled  with  sus- 
pense, and  the  utilization  of  a  new  weapon 
of  warfare  seemed  soon  to  be  realized. 
But  experiments  were  costly,  and  Fulton 
was  frequently  in  need  of  money  for  the 
furtherance  of  his  schemes.  From  time  to 
time  Barlow  forwarded  drafts,  which  ap- 
parently were  the  profits  from  Fulton's 
panorama,  then  on  exhibition  in  Paris. 
These  profits  were  shared  by  a  Mr. 
Thayer,^  who  had  secured  an  extension 
to  fifteen  years  of  the  original  ten  years' 
patent,  on  April  26,  1799,  granted  to  Ful- 
ton. Barlow  wrote  to  his  wife,  on  29th 
Thermidor,  1800: 

'James  William  Thayer,  an  American. 

74 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Tell  Toot  he  shall  have  the  $1000  In  a  day 
or  two,  but  Thayer  has  not  paid  according  to 
his  promise.  The  pictures  go  not  well, — 50  or 
60  livres  a  day  for  both, — and  at  this  season ! 
But  the  excessive  heat  prevents  everybody  from 
stirring  out,  especially  upon  the  Boulevard,  and 
in  the  day  time. 


"Toot"  was  Barlow's  pet  name  for  Ful- 
ton, possibly  suggested  by  the  tooting  of 
the  steam-engine  with  which  he  was  al- 
ready experimenting. 

A  few  days  later  Barlow  forwarded 
$500  through  a  banking  house,  and  prom- 
ised more  in  a  day  or  two. 

During  that  summer  Fulton  spent  his 
efforts  in  the  development  and  practical 
demonstration  of  submarine  navigation. 
His  friends,  of  whom  Barlow  was  chief, 
were  anxious  lest  he  should  overtax  his 
strength. 

The  torpedo  experiments  were  attended 
75 


ROBERT  FULTO]^ 

with  danger  and  under  hostile  observa- 
tion. Barlow  wrote  to  his  wife  17th 
Fructidor : 

And  poor  Toot,  I  suppose,  is  now  gone.  I 
have  not  believed  of  late  there  was  much  dan-  i 
ger  in  the  expedition  especially  if  they  don't 
go  over  to  the  enemy's  coast.  I  have  certainly 
seen  the  day  when  I  would  have  undertaken  it 
without  fear  or  apprehension  of  extraordinary 
risk.  I  can't  say  that  I  am  now  without  un- 
easiness. I  should  probably  have  less  if  I  was 
in  the  boat  and  without  bodily  pain.  But 
there  is  really  very  little  to  fear.  The  weather 
is  fine;  they  are  only  going  along  the  coast. 
He  is  master  of  all  his  movements,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  me  one  of  the  safest  of  all  hostile  enter- 
prises. 

Throughout  his  manoeuvers,  Fulton  rec- 
ognized the  necessity  of  governmental 
cooperation.  He  believed  that  the  project 
in  hand  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  not  for  the  furtherance 
70 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

of  individual  or  even  of  national  aggran- 
dizement. His  device  for  submarine 
gunnery  must,  if  it  should  prove  practi- 
cable, be  guarded  by  wise  laws  for  the 
safety  of  navies;  but  first  it  must  be 
practised  and  proved  of  value  in  warfare 
by  some  one  nation.  To  that  end  he  hoped 
to  find  the  Government  of  France  willing 
to  give  the  system  a  fair  trial. 

His  first  appeal  to  the  Directory  was 
encouraged.  With  the  appeal  he  for- 
warded a  descriptive  letter  which  defined 
the  advantages  of  his  invention.  He  de- 
scribed it  as  a  weapon  capable  of  freeing 
the  Republic  from  all  oppressors.  The 
Directory  gave  him  reason  to  hope  that  his 
plan  would  be  received  with  favor,  and  day 
by  day  he  awaited  their  reply.  Barlow 
added  his  influence  to  obtain  official  sanc- 
tion for  an  expedition  against  the  enemy's 
boats;  but  there  were  many  rebuffs  and 

5  77 


ROBERT  FULTON 

few  encouragements,  although  Fulton's 
patience  was  marked  and  emphasized  at 
every  period  of  his  busy  life. 

A  commission  had  been  appointed  by 
the  Minister  of  the  Marine  during  the  pre- 
ceding year  (1799) ,  and  the  reply  sent  by 
Fulton,  and  written  in  French,  is  the  only 
Fulton  document  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum.^  It  conclusively  proves  that 
Fulton  had  received  very  definite  encour- 
agement from  the  Government  of  France, 
and  it  emphasizes  the  inventor's  desire, 
which  dominated  his  enthusiasm  through- 
out all  his  experiments,  that  an  eternal 
peace  would  result  from  this  warlike  con- 
trivance. 

Epistolatory  skirmishes  between  the 
parties  to  this  transaction  were  almost  as 
numerous   as  between   the   two   warring 

^  A  translation  of  this  very  interesting  document  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix,  page  'MH. 

78 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

nations.  All  of  the  correspondence  is  not 
now  to  be  had,  but  the  part  that  has  been 
preserved  reveals,  for  the  first  time,  the 
actual  details  of  the  agreement  relative  to 
the  Nautilus,  the  first  submarine  torpedo- 
boat.  The  vessel  was  built  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  1800,  and  throughout  the 
succeeding  summer  Fulton  was  at  Brest, 
where  the  superb  harbor,  the  finest  on  the 
coast  of  France,  gave  him  the  right  oppor- 
tunity for  experiments. 

ATTITUDE  OF  NAPOLEON 

On  the  8th  Ventose  (February  28,  1801) 
Fulton  received  authoritative  word  from 
Napoleon,  through  the  Secretary  of  the 
Port,  to  send  his  torpedo-boat  against 
the  English  fleet.  After  considering  the 
matter  four  days,  Fulton  accepted  the 
proposition  and  agreed  to  the  terms  of 
79 


ROBERT  FULTON 

the  contract.  The  following  letter,  found 
among  Fulton's  family  papers,  is  here 
published  for  the  first  time : 

1st  Division 
Bureau  of  the  Port. 

Paris,  7th  Germinal, 
the  9th  year  of  the  One 
and  Indivisible  Republic. 
The  Minister  of  the  Marines  and  Colonies. 

To  Monsieur  Robert  Fulton, 

Rue  de  Vaugirard  No.  50,  Paris. 

I  announced  to  you,  Sir,  on  the  8th  of  Ven- 
tose,  that  the  First  Consul  had  authorized  me 
to  accept  your  proposition  relative  to  the 
Nautilus.  You  will  have  seen  by  that  letter 
that  you  will,  as  a  consequence,  be  credited 
with  the  sum  of  10,000  francs  to  repair  this 
Machine,  construct  the  auxiliaries,  and  to  con- 
vey, at  your  own  expense,  the  Nautilus  to 
Brest. 

It  has  been  decreed  that  you  will  be  allowed 
for  the  destruction  of  the  Enemy's  boats,  ac- 
cording to  their  strength,  as  follows: 

80 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

400,000  francs  for  those  of  more  than  30 
cannon. 

200,000  francs  for  those  of  more  than  20 
cannon  up  to  30  cannon. 

150,000  francs  for  those  of  from  12  to  20 
cannon. 

60,000  francs  for  those  of  10  cannon. 

This  force  is  the  minimum,  below  which  you 
will  have  no  power  to  return  claim. 

By  your  letter  of  the  12th  Ventose,  you  de- 
clare your  acceptance  of  these  conditions,  and 
I  give  the  order  to  put  to  your  account  the 
sum  of  10,000  francs,  by  means  of  which  you 
must  put  in  order  the  armor,  the  equipment 
and  the  expedition  of  the  Nautilus. 

There  exist  several  means  of  determining 
in  an  authentic  manner  the  destruction  of  the 
enemy's  boats.  The  attestations,  the  declara- 
tions, and  the  interrogations  put  in  legal  form 
by  competent  authorities,  will  serve  you  as  title 
to  reclaim  the  payment  of  the  sums  which  may 
ultimately  be  due  you. 

The  navigation  which  you  are  about  to 
undertake  being  absolutely  different  from 
others,  also  the  style  of  war  which  the  Nautilus 
is  destined  to  make  upon  the  enemy,  it  is  not 

81 


ROBERT  FULTON 

possible  to  indicate  in  advance  a  fixed  method 
of  affirming  the  truth  of  the  facts.  But  it  will 
be  supplied  by  the  information  of  the  Com- 
missary of  the  Government  of  England,  and  to 
the  Maritime  Prefects,  every  time  it  becomes 
necessary.  (Signed)     Forfait. 

The  inventor's  continued  appeal  to  Na- 
poleon led  to  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mission to  examine  the  plans  for  submarine 
navigation,  and  to  provide  funds  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  work  of  necessary  con- 
struction. Napoleon  desired,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  experiments,  personally  to 
view  the  plunging  boat ;  but  arrangements 
at  the  time  being  incomplete,  a  view  of  the 
apparatus  was  not  granted.  Fulton  ex- 
plains the  reason  for  his  refusal  to  grant 
an  exhibition  of  his  drawings  to  a  com- 
mittee of  engineers,  in  a  letter  printed 
below.  The  Citizens  INIonge,  La  Place, 
and  Volney  were  prominent  members  of 
82 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

the  National  Institute,  for  Napoleon  had 
taken  care  to  select  the  three  men  whose 
judgment  could  best  be  relied  on.  Gas- 
pard  Monge,  mathematician,  had  served 
as  Minister  of  the  Marine  during  two 
years,  and  later  founded  the  Polytechnic 
School  of  Paris.  Pierre-Simon  de  La 
Place,  astronomer,  had  held  the  position 
of  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  Ecole 
Militaire,  and  was  later  vice-president  of 
the  senate.  And  Count  Volney,  a  famous 
French  scholar  and  author,  whose  travels 
had  brought  him  to  America,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  constituent  assembly.  It  was 
these  three  men  who  held  the  power  of 
judgment  over  the  newly  devised  weapon. 
Among  Fulton's  papers  were  found 
two  letters  addressed  to  this  commission. 
Both  are  of  unique  interest,  the  first  be- 
cause it  shows  Fulton's  personal  reasons 
for  guarding  his  invention  with  all  care, 
83 


ROBERT  FULTON 

the  second  because  of  its  detailed  recital 
of  his  various  experiments,  with  dates  and 
subsequent  consequences.* 


Paris,  the  3d  Complimentary  Day, 

An  9. 

Robert  Fulton  to  the  Citizens  Monge,  La  Place, 
and  Volney,  Members  of  the  National  Insti- 
tute and  Commissionaries  appointed  by  the 
First  Consul  to  promote  the  Invention  of 
Submarine  Navigation. 

Citizens  :  This  morning  I  received  yours 
of  the  2nd  Compl.  As  to  the  expense  of  a 
plunging  Boat,  I  believe  when  constructed  in 
the  best  manner  with  every  improvement  which 
experience  has  pointed  out,  She  cannot  cost 
more  than  80,000  Livers.  The  Bombs  Sub- 
marine may  be  estimated  at  80  Livers  each,  on 
an  average  independent  of  the  powder. 

I  am  sorry  that  I  liad  not  earlier  informa- 
tion of  the  [first]  Counsul's  desire  to  see  the 
Plunging  Boat.     Wlien   I   finished   my  experi- 

1  These  letters  are  here  j^iven  to  the  public  for 
the  first  time. 

84 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

ments,  She  leaked  very  much  and  being  but  an 
imperfect  engine,  I  did  not  think  her  further 
useful, — hence  I  took  Her  to  pieces,  Sold  Her 
Iron  work  lead  and  cylinders  and  was  ne- 
cessitated to  break  the  greater  part  of  her 
movements  in  taking  them  to  pieces.  So 
that  nothing  now  remains  which  can  give 
an  Idea  of  her  combination;  but  even  had 
She  been  complete  I  do  not  think  She  could 
have  been  brought  round  to  Paris.  You  will 
be  so  good  as  to  excuse  me  to  the  Premier  Con- 
sul, when  I  refuse  to  exhibit  my  drawings  to  a 
Committee  of  Engineers.  For  this  I  have  two 
reasons ;  the  first  is  not  to  put  it  in  the  power 
of  anyone  to  explain  the  principles  or  move- 
ments lest  they  should  pass  from  one  to  another 
till  the  enemy  obtained  information :  the  Second 
is  that  I  consider  this  Invention  as  my  private 
property,  the  perfcctionment  of  which  will  give 
to  France  incalculable  advantages  over  her 
most  powerful  and  active  enemy ;  and  which 
Invention,  I  conceive,  ought  to  secure  to  me  an 
ample  Independence.  That  consequently  the 
Government  should  stipulate  certain  terms  with 
me  Before  I  proceed  to  further  explanation. 
The   First   Consul   is   too  just,   and  you   know 

87 


ROBERT  FULTON 

me  too  well,  to  construe  this  into  an  avaricious 
disposition  in  me.  I  have  now  laboured  3 
years  and  at  considerable  expense  to  prove 
my  experiments.  And  I  find  that  a  man  who 
wishes  to  Cultivate  the  useful  Arts,  cannot 
make  rapid  Progress  without  sufficient  funds  to 
put  his  succession  of  Ideas  to  immediate  proof; 
and  which  sufficiency  I  conceive  this  invention 
should  secure  to  me.  You  have  intimated  that 
the  movements  and  combination  of  so  interest- 
ing an  engine  should  be  confided  to  trusty 
persons,  lest  any  accident  should  happen  to  me. 
This  precaution  I  took  previous  to  my  depar- 
ture from  Paris  for  my  last  experiments,  by 
placing  correct  Drawings  of  the  Machine  and 
every  Movement  with  their  descriptions,  in  the 
hands  of  a  friend ;  so  that  any  engineer  capable 
of  constructing  a  Steam  engine,  could  make 
the  plunging  Boat  and  Carcasses  or  Bombs. 

You  will  therefore  be  so  good  as  to  beg  of 
the  First  Consul  to  permit  you  to  treat  with 
me  on  the  business.  And  on  this  point  I  hope 
there  will  not  be  much  difficulty.  Health  and 
sincere  respect, 

Robert  Fulton. 


88 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Paris,  the  22d  Fructidore,  An  9. 

Robert  Fulton  to  the  Citizens  Monge,  La  Place, 
and  Volney,  Members  of  the  National  Insti- 
tute, and  Commissioners  appointed  by  the 
first  Consul  to  promote  the  invention  of  Sub- 
marine Navigation. 

Citizens:  Yesterday  on  my  return  from 
brest  I  received  your  note  and  will  with  plea- 
sure communicate  to  you  the  result  of  my  ex- 
periments, during  the  summer,  also  the  mode 
which  I  conceive  the  most  effectual  for  using 
my  invention  against  the  enemy.  Before  I  left 
Paris  I  informed  you  that  my  plunging  boat 
had  many  imperfections,  natural  to  the  first 
machine  of  so  difficult  a  combination  added  to 
this  I  found  she  had  been  much  Injured  by  the 
rust  during  the  winter  in  consequence  of  having 
in  many  places  used  Iron  bolts  and  arbours 
instead  of  copper  or  brass.  The  reparation  of 
these  defects  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  work- 
men consumed  near  two  months,  and  although 
the  machine  remained  still  extremely  imperfect, 
yet  She  has  answered  to  prove  every  necessary 
experiment  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner. 

On   the  3rd   of  thermidor  I  commenced  my 

89 


ROBERT  FULTON 

experiments  by  plunging  to  the  depth  of  5 
then  10  then  15  and  so  on,  to  25  feet,  but  not 
to  a  greater  depth  than  25  feet  as  I  did  not 
conceive  the  Machine  sufficiently  strong  to  bear 
the  pressure  of  a  greater  column  of  water.  At 
this  depth  I  remained  one  hour  with  my  three 
companions  and  two  candles  burning  without 
experiencing  the  least  inconvenience. 

Previous  to  my  leaving  Paris  I  gave  to  the 
C[itize]n  Queyton,  Member  of  the  Institute, 
a  calculation  on  the  number  of  cube  feet  in  my 
boat  which  is  about  212.  In  such  a  volume  of 
air  he  calculated  there  would  be  sufficient  Oxy- 
gen to  nourish  4  men  and  two  small  candles 
3  hours.  Seeing  that  it  would  be  of  great  im- 
provement to  dispense  with  the  candles,  I  con- 
structed a  small  window  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  boat  near  the  bow,  which  window  is  only  one 
inch  and  a  half  diameter,  and  of  glass  nine 
lines  thick.  With  this  prepared,  I  descended 
on  the  5th  of  Thermidor,  to  the  depth  of  be- 
tween 24  and  25  feet  at  which  depth  I  had  suf- 
ficient light  to  count  the  minutes  on  the  watch. 
Hence  I  conclude  that  3  or  4  such  windows  ar- 
ranged in  different  parts  of  the  boat,  would 
give  sufficient  light   for   any   operation   during 

90 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

the  day.  Each  window  may  be  guarded  by  a 
valve  in  such  a  manner  that  should  the  glass 
break,  the  valve  would  immediately  shut  and 
stop  out  the  water.  Finding  that  I  had  air 
and  light  sufficient,  and  that  I  could  plunge 
and  Rise  perpendicular  with  facility,  on  the 
7th  Ther.  I  commenced  the  experiments  on  her 
movements.  At  ten  in  the  morning  I  raised  her 
anchor  and  hoisted  her  sails,  which  are  a  main 
sail  and  Gib,  the  breeze  being  light  I  could  not 
at  the  utmost  make  more  than  about  two-thirds 
of  a  league  per  hour.  I  tacked  and  re-tacked, 
tryed  her  before  and  by  the  wind,  and  in  all 
these  operations  found  her  to  Answer  the  helm 
and  act  like  a  common  dull  sailing  boat.  After 
exercising  thus  about  an  hour,  I  lowered  the 
mast  and  Sails  and  commenced  the  operation 
of  Plunging.  This  required  about  two  Min- 
utes. I  then  placed  two  men  at  the  engine 
which  gives  the  Rectilinear  motion,  and  one  at 
the  helm,  while  I  governed  the  machine  which 
keeps  her  balanced  two  waters.  With  the 
bathometer  before  me  and  with  one  hand,  I 
found  I  could  keep  her  at  any  depth  I  thought 
proper.  The  men  then  commenced  their  move- 
ment   and    continued    about    7    minutes    when, 

91 


ROBERT  FULTON 

mounting  to  the  surface,  I  found  we  had  gained 
400  metres.  I  again  plunged,  turned  her 
round  under  water  and  returned  to  near  the 
same  Place.  I  again  plunged  and  tried  her 
movements  to  the  right  and  left,  in  all  of  which 
the  helm  answered  and  the  compass  acted  the 
same  as  if  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  Having 
continued  these  experiments  the  8,  9,  10  and 
12th,  until  I  became  familiar  with  the  move- 
ments and  confident  in  their  operation,  I  turned 
my  thoughts  to  increasing  or  preserving  the 
Air.  For  this  purpose  the  Cn.  Queyton  ad- 
vised to  precipitate  the  carbonic  acid  with  lime, 
or  to  take  with  me  bottles  of  Oxygen  which 
might  be  uncorked  as  need  required:  but  as 
any  considerable  quantity  of  bottles  would  take 
up  too  much  room,  and  as  Oxygen  could  not 
be  created  at  sea  without  a  chemical  operation 
which  would  be  very  inconvenient,  I  adopted  a 
mode  which  occurred  to  me  18  months  ago, 
which  is  a  simple  globe  or  bomb  of  copper 
capable  of  containing  one  cube  foot  to  \^the 
paper  is  here  torn^  a  pneumatic  pump  by 
means  of  which  pump  200  atmospheres  or  200 
cube  feet  of  common  air  may  be  forced  into 
the  Bomb,  consequently  the  Bomb  or  reservoir 

92 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

will  contain  as  much  oxygen  or  vital  air  as  200 
cube  feet  of  common  respirable  Air.  Hence  if 
according  to  the  Cn.  Queyton's  calculation  212 
feet  which  is  the  volume  of  the  boat,  will  nour- 
ish 4  men  and  two  small  candles  3  hours,  this 
additional  reservoir  will  give  sufficient  for  6 
hours.  This  reservoir  is  constructed  with  a 
measure  and  two  cocks  So  as  to  let  measures  of 
Air  into  the  Boat  as  need  may  require.  Pre- 
vious to  my  leaving  Paris  I  gave  orders  for  this 
machine  but  it  did  not  arrive  till  the  18th  of 
Thermidor.  On  the  19th  I  ordered  2  men  to 
fill  it,  which  was  an  operation  of  about  one 
hour.  I  then  put  It  into  the  boat,  and  with  my 
three  companions,  but  without  candles,  plunged 
to  the  depth  of  about  five  feet.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  one  hour  and  40  minutes  I  began  to  let 
off  measures  of  air  from  the  reservoir  and  so 
on  from  time  to  time  for  4  hours  20  minutes, 
without  experiencing  any  inconvenience.  Hav- 
ing thus  succeeded 

To  sail  like  a  common  boat. 

To  obtain  air  and  light. 

To  plunge  and  Rise  perpendicular. 

To  turn  to  the  right  and  left  at  pleasure. 

To  steer  by  the  compass  under  water. 

93 


ROBERT  FULTON 

To  renew  the  Common  Volume  of  air  with 
facihty. 

And  to  augment  the  respirable  air  by  a  reser- 
voir which  may  be  obtained  at  all  times. 

I  conceived  every  experiment  of  importance 
to  be  proved  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner. 
Hence  I  quit  the  experiments  on  the  Boat  to 
try  those  of  the  Bomb  Submarine.  It  is  this 
Bomb  which  is  the  Engine  of  destruction,  the 
plunging  boat  is  only  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
veying the  Bomb  to  where  it  may  be  used  to 
advantage.  They  are  constructed  of  Copper 
and  of  different  sizes  to  contain  from  10  to  200 
pounds  of  powder.  Each  bomb  is  arranged 
with  a  Gun  lock  in  such  a  manner  that  if  it 
strikes  a  vessel  or  the  Vessel  runs  against  it, 
the  explosion  will  take  place  and  the  bottom  of 
the  vessel  be  blown  in  or  so  shattered  as  to  ensure 
her  destruction.  To  prove  this  experiment,  the 
Prefect  Maritime  and  Admiral  Villaret  ordered 
a  small  Sloop  of  about  40  feet  long  to  be  an- 
chored in  the  Road,  on  the  23rd  of  Thermidor. 
With  a  bomb  containing  about  20  pounds  of 
powder  I  advanced  to  within  about  200  Metres, 
then  taking  my  direction  so  as  to  pass  near  the 
Sloop,  I  struck  her  with  the  bomb  in  my  pass- 

94 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

age.  The  explosion  took  place  and  the  sloop 
was  torn  into  atoms,  in  fact,  nothing  was  left 
but  the  buye  [buoy]  and  cable.  And  the  con- 
cussion was  so  great  that  a  column  of  Water, 
Smoke  and  fibres  of  the  Sloop  were  cast  from 
80  to  100  feet  in  Air.  This  simple  Experi- 
ment at  once  proved  the  effect  of  the  Bomb 
Submarine  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  the  Spec- 
tators. Of  this  Experiment  you  will  see  Ad- 
miral Villaret's  description  in  a  letter  to  the 
Minister  of  Marine.^ 


The  demonstration  of  the  destruction  of 
the  sloop  during  the  month  of  August, 
1801,  was  attested  by  numerous  specta- 
tors, and  public  approval  was  not  lacking. 
The  invention  seemed  of  noteworthy  im- 
portance to  the  officials  and  marine  com- 
missioners. It  was  considered  a  success, 
and  established  without  doubt  in  the  minds 
of  the  multitude  of  spectators  the  facts 
which  Fulton  had  essayed  to  prove.  Never- 

^  See  Fulton's  detailed  experiments  in  Appendix,  page  3-20. 

«  95 


ROBERT  FULTON 

theless,  as  time  went  on,  the  officials  of 
France  withheld  from  Fulton  a  full 
knowledge  of  their  satisfaction:  perhaps 
they  did  not  feel  well  disposed  toward  the 
adoption  of  such  destructive  weapons; 
possibly  it  was  difficult  to  convince  the 
sailors,  who  would  have  to  man  the  new 
boats,  that  the  project  was  one  which 
justified  the  apparent  danger.  Mr.  C. 
Harrison  Suplee,  Editor  of  "Cassier's 
Magazine,"  in  a  recent  article  suggests 
that  it  was  upon  a  final  requirement  that 
Fulton  included  in  his  terms, — although 
it  is  not  here  noted  in  Forf ait's  reply, — 
that  he  and  his  men  be  officially  recog- 
nized, and  might  receive  protection  which 
would  be  accorded  to  Frenchmen,  should 
they  chance,  in  the  fulfilment  of  their  war- 
ring enterprises,  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  Fulton  spent  an  unsuccessful 
summer  in  reconnoitering  the  coast,  and 
96 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

apparently  received  no  pecuniary  reward 
for  his  dangerous  labor,  as  he  failed  to 
overtake  an  English  ship. 

Fulton  continued  his  experiments  with 
boats,  upon  and  beneath  the  water,  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  his  stay  in  France. 
He  openly  demonstrated  the  principles  of 
his  inventions,  and  vainly  offered  them  to 
the  French  Government.  If  Napoleon 
had  been  favorable  to  them,  the  history 
of  Europe  might  have  been  changed.  But 
Napoleon's  scientific  counselors  had  pro- 
nounced Fulton  "a  visionary"  and  his 
invention  "a  mad  scheme"  and  "simple 
absurdity." 

ALARM  OF  THE  BRITISH  MINISTRY 

English     statesmen     were     not     unac- 
quainted with  the  development  of  Fulton's 
plans,  and  Lord  Stanhope  delivered  to  the 
97 


ROBERT  FULTON 

House  of  Lords  a  message  of  warning. 
Barlow  wTote  to  Fulton  to  acquaint  him 
of  the  discussion,  which  terminated  in 
September,  1803,  in  an  invitation  from  the 
British  Government  to  the  inventor  to 
display  his  torpedo  contrivance.  His  note- 
book contains  this  entry: 

I  agreed  on  certain  conditions  and  Mr.  Smith  ^ 
set  off  for  London  to  give  in  my  terms.  I 
then  met  him  in  Amsterdam  in  December  with 
the  reply,  which  not  being  satisfactory,  he  re- 
turned to  London  with  other  proposals  and  I 
went  on  to  Paris. 

Fulton  wrote  a  careful  explanation  of 
his  negotiations  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment—a folio  of  many  pages  which  is 
now  in  possession  of  his  heirs.  He  entitled 
it  "Submarine  Navigation  &  Attack"  and 
outlined  its  purpose  as  follows: 

^  A  name  assumed  by  Dr.  Gregory,  of  England,  emissary 
from  the  Government. 

98 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

"Reasons  why  I  directed  my  attention 
to  such  inventions. 

"Negotiations  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment on  this  subject. 

"Description  of  the  Engines  &  several 
modes  of  using  them. 

"Reasoning  on  the  consequences  of  such 
Inventions." 

Like  all  of  Fulton's  writings  it  is  minute 
in  detail,  logical  in  construction  and  of 
convincing  argument.  He  stated  that  his 
reason  for  the  invention  was  "the  possi- 
bility of  destroying  all  military  Marines 
and  of  giving  liberty  to  the  seas."  He 
showed  that  Henry  IV  of  France  and 
the  Abbe  St.  Pierre,  with  all  their  industry 
and  influence,  had  endeavored  in  vain  to 
form  a  congress  which  might  decide  on 
grievances.  Therefore  he  sought  for  effi- 
cient means  in  the  arts,  where,  after  two 
years  of  study  and  experiment,  he  became 
99 


ROBERT  FULTON 

convinced  of  the  utility  of  his  torpedo 
project  to  accomplish  the  end  of  all  war- 
fare. 

He  outlined  the  plan  to  Lord  Stanhope, 
who  sounded  the  alarm  in  the  House  of 
Lords.  In  1803  the  Earl  formed  a  com- 
mittee to  learn  of  Fulton's  progress  in  the 
invention,  which  reported  to  Lord  Sid- 
mouth,  then  Premier  of  Parliament.  The 
latter  despatched  a  messenger^  to  Fulton, 
who  was  then  in  France,  to  invite  him  to 
return  to  England  to  communicate  his  tor- 
pedo plans  to  the  British  Government. 

Fulton  framed  proposals,  and  upon 
their  ultimate  acceptance  was  induced  to 
leave  France.  This  he  did  on  April  29, 
1804,  and  reached  London  on  the  19th  of 
May.  Lord  Sidmouth  had  retired  from 
office  and  Mr.  Pitt  was  in  power.  When 
he  viewed  Fulton's  sketch  of  an  engine  of 

^Dr.  Gregory,  alias  "Mr.  Smith." 

100 


AND  THE    'CLERMONT'* 

simple  construction,  easy  application  and 
powerful  effect,  the  Prime  Minister  ob- 
served that  if  introduced  into  practice  it 
would  lead  to  the  annihilation  of  all  mili- 
tary marines. 

It  was  agreed  that  His  Majesty's  Dock 
Yard  and  Arsenals  were  to  furnish  neces- 
sary means  to  give  efficacy  to  Fulton's 
plans,  and  a  contract  signed  by  Mr.  Pitt 
and  Lord  Melville  was  drawn  between  the 
inventor  and  the  British  Government. 

By  the  terms  of  this  bond,  Fulton  was 
to  receive  as  an  equivalent  for  his  proposed 
mode  of  Submarine  warfare  a  salary  of 
two  hundred  pounds  a  month  and  one  half 
the  value  of  all  vessels  which  might  be 
destroyed  by  the  new  engine  within  four- 
teen years,  the  duration  of  the  patent.  It 
was  further  agreed  that  in  case  the  Min- 
isters decided  not  to  prosecute  the  plans, 
yet  it  should  appear  that  by  means  of  them 
101 


ROBERT  FULTON 

the  enemy's  ships  might  be  destroyed  with 
greater  ease  than  by  any  other  mode  of 
practice,  the  inventor  should  receive 
£40,000. 

Under  these  conditions  Fulton  entered 
upon  the  work  which  detained  him  in  Eng- 
land for  two  years  of  test,  explanation, 
and  entreaty.  Lord  Melville  retired  from 
office,  and  the  death  of  Pitt  and  sub- 
sequent change  of  the  Ministry  gradu- 
ally extinguished  Fulton's  hope  of  success. 
Finally  in  the  autumn  of  1806  the  Govern- 
ment declined  to  adopt  the  invention,  but 
fearing  its  power  if  turned  against  Eng- 
land, made  overtures  to  Fulton  to  suppress 
the  new  mode  of  warfare.  These  offers 
Fulton  summarily  declined:  and  con- 
cluded his  reply  with  these  words: 

"At  all  events,  whatever  may  be  your 
reward,  I  will  never  consent  to  let  these 
inventions  lie  dormant  should  my  Country 
102 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

at  any  time  have  need  of  them.  Were  you 
to  grant  me  an  annuity  of  £20,000  a  year, 
I  would  sacrifice  all  to  the  safety  &  inde- 
pendence of  my  Country.  But  I  hope 
that  England  and  America  will  under- 
stand their  mutual  Interest  too  well  to 
War  with  each  other  And  I  have  no  desire 
to  Introduce  my  Engines  into  practice 
for  the  benefit  of  any  other  Nation." 

In  the  following  words,  he  reminded 
the  British  Ministry  of  his  intent  to  return 
to  America: 

"As  I  am  bound  in  honor  to  Mr.  Liv- 
ingston to  put  my  steamboat  in  practice 
and  such  engine  is  of  more  immediate  use 
to  my  Country  than  Submarine  Naviga- 
tion, I  wish  to  devote  some  years  to  it  and 
should  the  British  Government  allow  me 
an  annuity  I  should  not  only  do  justice  to 
my  friends  but  it  would  enable  me  to  carry 
my  steamboat  and  other  plans  into  effect 
105 


ROBERT  FULTON 

for  the  good  of  my  Country.— It  has 
never  been  my  intention  to  hide  these  In- 
ventions from  the  world  on  any  considera- 
tion, on  the  contrary  it  has  been  my 
intention  to  make  them  public  as  soon  as 
consistent  with  strict  justice  to  all  with 
whom  I  am  concerned.  For  myself  I  have 
ever  considered  the  interest  of  Amer- 
ica [n]  free  commerce,  the  interest  of  man- 
kind, the  magnitude  of  the  object  in  view 
and  the  rational  reputation  connected  with 
it  superior  to  all  calculations  of  a  pecu- 
niary kind." 

The  terms  of  settlement,  which  were 
agreed  by  arbitration,  are  defined  in  Ful- 
ton's letter  to  Joel  Barlow  quoted  later. 
He  joyously  accepted  the  release  whereby 
he  could  take  up  the  "several  projects  of 
sublimity"  in  his  own  country,  and  re- 
turned to  his  native  land,  from  which  he 
had  been  absent  for  twenty  years. 
106 


PART  III 

THE  TRIAL  BOAT  ON  THE 
SEINE 


THE  evolution  of  navigation  was  al- 
most as  gradual  as  the  evolution  of 
man.  To  deny  the  preliminary  stages  in 
either  case  would  be  equally  futile.  From 
the  moment  when  primitive  eyes  witnessed 
the  voyage  of  a  sun-warped  leaf  upon  a 
pool,  the  object-lessons  of  boating  were 
discernible.  Soon  the  hollow  log  became 
the  prototype  of  the  jfirst  canoe;  later  in- 
telligence built  larger  craft,  with  skins  of 
slain  beasts  upheld  to  catch  the  propelling 
winds;  after  centuries  of  progress,  per- 
fected sailing  ships  moved  from  conti- 
nental shore  to  shore.  A  study  of  history 
will  reveal  in  the  art  of  navigation,  as  in 
every  other  science,  the  clearly  formu- 
lated ideas  of  successive  progress. 
109 


ROBERT  FULTON 

In  the  year  1807  it  remained  for  Robert 
Fulton  to  arrive,  after  years  of  study  and 
numberless  tests,  at  the  definite  know- 
ledge of  proper  proportions,  and  to  build 
the  steamboat  which  successfully  navi- 
gated and  proved  its  utility  upon  the  pic- 
turesque waters  of  the  Hudson  River. 
This  happy  combination  of  undaunted 
perseverance  and  achievement  upon  a  scene 
of  unrivaled  beauty,  with  a  group  of  his- 
toric witnesses,  and  Fulton's  subsequent 
developments  in  the  art  of  steam  naviga- 
tion, combine  to  make  the  occasion  worthy 
of  national  honor  at  the  close  of  a  century. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  civilized 
world  awaited  the  invention.  In  several 
countries  inceptive  attempts  to  solve  the 
problem  were  manifest,  and  these  are  per- 
manently recorded  in  history.  In  Amer- 
ica John  Fitch,  William  Henry,  James 
Rumsey,  and  Edward  West  had  experi- 
110 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

merited  with  varying  degrees  of  success; 
in  Scotland,  as  early  as  1781,  Symington 
and  Bell  had  tried  an  experiment  upon 
the  waters  of  the  Forth  and  Clyde  Canal, 
and  in  the  same  year,  in  France,  the 
Abbe  Arnal  propounded  his  theories. 
In  1795,  as  already  stated,  Earl  Stanhope 
of  England  experimented  with  a  web-foot 
paddle;  in  1801,  Hunter  and  Dickinson, 
his  countrymen,  attempted  a  trip  upon  the 
River  Thames  with  a  boat  which  proved 
a  failure.  Robert  R.  Livingston,  who 
later  was  associated  with  Fulton  as  part- 
ner in  the  enterprise  of  the  Clennont,  had 
tried  his  hand  at  the  venture,  as  had  also 
Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt,  who  subsequently 
(1809)  was  employed  by  Livingston  and 
Fulton  to  study  the  possibilities  of  navi- 
gation by  steam  upon  the  Mississippi  and 
other  important  Western  rivers.  To  this 
already  long,  though  incomplete,  list  of 
111 


ROBERT  FULTON 

sometime  claimants  for  the  honorable  title 
of  inventor  may  be  added  tlie  names  of 
William  Longstreet,  Samuel  Morey,  and 
John  Stevens.  Truly  with  Robert  Fulton 
the  "psychological  moment"  of  demon- 
stration had  arrived. 

But  earlier  than  any  of  these  essays  to- 
ward the  new  art  should  be  noted  an  ex- 
perimenter, John  Allen,  M.D.,  who  in 
1730  mentioned  a  method  of  propelling  a 
vessel  by  steam.  He  was  a  scientific  Eng- 
lishman whose  fondness  for  experiment 
led  him  to  publish  a  paper  entitled  "Navi- 
gation in  a  Calm."  The  advance  of 
the  becalmed  sailing  ship  could  be  ef- 
fected, he  averred,  "by  the  propulsion  of 
water  through  an  aperture  in  the  stern  of 
the  vessel  by  pumps  actuated  by  the  labor 
of  many  men";  and  he  further  suggested 
that  "a  fire-engine  [evidently  Newco- 
men's  atmospheric  steam-engine,  patented 
112 


A 


RoIJHKT  I-TLTON 

From  the  pencil  drawing  by  John  \'anderlyn.    Hxccutcd  by  \'andcrlyn  at  Joel  Barlo^i 
house  in  Paris,.5o  rue  Vaugirard,  where  I-ulton  was  living  1797-1804. 
Owned  by  Judge  Peter  T.  Uarlow. 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

1705]  with  its  furniture  should  be  put  on 
board  a  70-gun  ship  having  on  board  a 
'Pneumatick  engine'  above  described,  with 
two  7  foot  cylinders  and  their  pistons, — 
the  force,  being  equivalent  to  the  labor  of 
ninety  or  one  hundred  men,  would  drive  a 
ship  of  twelve  or  fourteen  tons  at  the  rate 
of  three  knots  an  hour."^ 

These  experiments  are  all  links  in  an 
interesting  chain  which  successively  led  to 
the  perfecting  of  the  first  steamboat  built 
by  Robert  Fulton. 

It  is  important  to  emphasize  the  fact 
that  Fulton  himself  was  fully  cognizant 
of  those  earlier  attempts ;  indeed,  he  would 
have  deprecated  the  inference  that  he  had 
not  duly  profited  by  the  prior  experiments 
of  other  scientists.  His  generous  mind 
sought  for  comradeship  in  the  solution  of 
the  important  problem.     In  his  hitherto 

1  Eliot  Hodgkin  (F.  S.  A)  in  "  Rariora." 

^  115 


ROBERT  FULTON 

unpublished  "Notes  for  an  Argument  on 
Steam  Boats,  Should  Argument  Become 
Necessary"  (in  the  possession  of  the  estate 
of  his  daughter,  Cornelia  Livingston 
Crary),  he  distinctly  states: 

It  is  now  about  thirty  years  since  experi- 
ments commenced  in  Europe  and  America,  with  a 
view  to  move  boats  or  vessels  to  advantage  by 
the  power  of  steam  engines.  All  of  which  failed 
of  any  useful  result.  As  a  proof  of  this,  there 
were  nowhere,  either  in  Europe  or  America,  any 
kind  of  steamboat  in  actual  operation  when 
Messrs.  Livingston  and  Fulton  commenced  their 
experiments  upon  the  Seine  near  Paris  in  the 
year  1802.  And  the  repeated  failure  of  men  of 
science,  among  whom  were  the  ingenious  Earl 
of  Stanhope,  gave  an  impression  to  the  public 
mind  both  in  Europe  and  America,  that  it  was 
impracticable  to  make  a  useful  steamboat,  and 
under  this  belief  those  who  attempted  it  were 
considered  as  visionaries  or  mad  men.  In  this 
state  of  things  Mr.  Livingston,  while  in  Paris 
in  1802,  persuaded  Mr.  Fulton  to  make  the  at- 
tempt, and  he,  fortunately  for  our  country,  has 

116 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

succeeded.  America  therefore  claims  the  honor 
of  this  important  invention  which  may  justly 
be  considered  an  epoch  in  the  useful  arts,  to 
the  incalculable  advantage  of  these  young  and 
rising  states.^ 

A  legal  form  of  agreement  was  drawn 
by  the  two  men,  and  signed  at  Paris,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1802.    It  runs  as  follows: 

THE  FULTON-LIVINGSTON  PARTNERSHIpa 

Memorandum  of  an  Agreement  entered  into 
this  tenth  day  of  October  in  the  Year  One 
Thousand  Eight  hundred  and  two,  between 
Robert  R.  Livingston  Esq.,  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  Robert  Fulton  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Whereas  the  said  Livingston  and  Fulton  have 
for  several  years  past  separately  tried  various 
mechanical  Combinations  for  the  purpose  of 
propelling  boats   and  vessels  by  the  power   of 

^  For  Chancellor  Livingston's  account  of  the  partnership, 
see  Appendix,  page  326. 

^The  original  document  is  now  in  the  possession  of  John 
Henry  Livingston,  Esq.,  of  Clermont,  by  whose  permission 
it  is  here  first  reproduced. 

117 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Steam  Engines,  and  conceiving  that  their  ex- 
periments have  demonstrated  the  possibiHty  of 
success,  they  hereby  agree  to  make  an  attempt 
to  carry  their  invention  into  useful  operation. 
And  for  that  purpose  enter  into  partnership  on 
the  following  conditions : 

First:  That  a  passage  boat  moved  by  the 
power  of  a  Steam  Engine  shall  be  constructed 
at  New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  navigating 
between  New  York  and  Albany,  which  boat 
shall  not  exceed  120  feet  in  length,  8  feet  in 
width  nor  draw  more  than  15  inches  water; 
that  such  boat  shall  be  calculated  on  the  experi- 
ments already  made,  with  the  view  to  run  8 
miles  an  hour  in  stagnate  water  and  carry  at 
least  60  passengers  allowing  200  pounds  weight 
to  each  passenger. 

Second:  That  a  patent  shall  be  taken  in  the 
United  States  of  America  in  the  name  of  said 
Fulton  for  a  new  mechanical  combination  of 
a  boat  to  navigate  by  the  power  of  a  Steam 
Engine  for  which  Patent  the  said  Fulton  shall 
deposit  every  necessary  drawing,  model,  and 
specification,  and  when  such  patent  is  obtained, 
the  property  thereof  shall  be  divided  into  One 
hundred  shares,  fifty  of  which  shares  shall  be 
transferred  to  the  said  Livingston  as  his  prop- 

118 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

erty,  and  fifty  shares  shall  be  held  by  the  said 
Fulton  as  his  property,  and  all  emoluments 
arising  from  said  Patent  in  America,  or  from 
any  extension  of  said  Patent,  or  for  any  Patent 
premium  or  privilege  in  any  other  Country 
shall  be  equally  divided,  one  half  to  the  said 
Livingston,  and  one  half  to  the  said  Fulton. 

Third:  That  for  the  purpose  of  proving  the 
utility  of  this  invention  by  a  fair  experiment, 
the  said  Fulton  agrees  to  go  immediately  to 
England,  and  there  construct  a  boat  and  engine 
as  near  the  dimensions  and  powers  of  the  Steam 
Boat  mentioned  in  Article  the  First  as  the 
Engine  he  may  find  will  admit,  which  boat  being 
for  the  purpose  of  experiment,  it  is  presumed 
that  a  steam  engine  may  be  borrowed  for  that 
purpose ;  it  is  also  estimated  that  if  the  experi- 
ment should  not  succeed,  the  loss  on  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  machinery  together  with  the 
expenses  of  the  said  Fulton  will  amount  to 
Five  Hundred  Pounds  sterling,  which  sum  the 
said  Livingston  agrees  to  furnish  at  any  time 
or  times  which  the  said  Fulton  may  think 
proper  to  draw  for  the  same.  And  the  said 
Fulton  binds  himself  to  pay  to  the  said  Liv- 
ingston, one  half  of  the  expense  which  such 
experiment  may  cost,  within  two  years  from  the 

119 


ROBERT  FULTON 

abandoning  said  enterprise,  with  interest  for 
the  same  at  seven  per  cent  per  annum.  But 
should  the  experiment  succeed  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  here  contracting  parties,  the  first 
object  shall  be  to  obtain  a  Patent  in  America 
and  establish  a  passage  boat  to  run  to  and 
from  New  York  and  Albany  which  work  the 
said  Fulton  agrees  to  superintend,  during 
which  time  his  reasonable  expenses  shall  be  es- 
timated as  part  of  the  general  expenses  of  the 
establishment. 

Fourth:  And  when  such  boat  shall  be  in  com- 
plete activity  and  the  principle  of  navigating 
by  Steam  fully  established,  each  of  the  here  con- 
tracting parties  may  dispose  of  any  number  of 
their  shares,  not  exceeding  forty  shares,  that 
they  may  think  proper ;  but  the  purchasers  of 
shares,  or  share  holders  shall  have  no  voice  or 
command  in  conducting  the  business  of  the  con- 
cern ;  but  the  number  of  boats,  offices  and  agents 
shall  be  augmented  or  diminished  as  may  be 
thought  proper  by  the  said  Livingston  and 
Fulton,  nevertheless  all  augmentations  and  ex- 
penses shall  be  made  out  of  the  profits  of  the 
undertaking  and  not  by  a  demand  for  advances 
on   the  part  of  shareholders,  and  the  surplus 

120 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

profits  shall  be  divided  twice  a  year  in  propor- 
tion to  the  shares,  for  which  purpose  the  share 
holders  or  their  agents  shall  be  at  liberty  to 
examine  the  books  during  the  first  week  of  May 
and  the  first  week  of  October  in  each  year  : 

Fifth:  And  Whereas  the  duration  of  a  Patent 
in  the  United  States  of  America  is  for  fourteen 
years,  this  partnership  is  made  for  fourteen 
years,  or  for  any  greater  period  to  which  the 
privilege  in  any  of  the  American  States  can  be 
extended,  But  at  any  period  over  fourteen 
years  at  xchich  the  Patent  expires  in  America, 
the  partnership  shall  cease  also,  And  the  whole 
stock  of  boats,  warehouses  or  other  property 
shall  be  considered  the  property  of  the  share 
holders,  who  as  a  Company  of  proprietors  will 
make  such  regulations  as  they  think  proper 
to  govern  their  affairs,  each  share  being  a  voice 
in  such  arrangement : 

Sixth:  And  it  is  further  agreed  that  in  case 
of  the  death  of  the  said  Livingston  or  Fulton 
within  fourteen  years,  or  before  the  termination 
of  the  period  specified  for  the  duration  of  the 
partnership,  each  heir  or  assign  who  holds  at 
least  twenty  shares  shall  be  considered  as  an 
active  partner,  with  full  power  to  act  in  place 

121 


ROBERT  FULTON 

of  the  deceased,  but  as  this  arrangement  may 
introduce  two  partners,  Should  two  partners 
be  introduced,  the  surviving  primitive  partner 
shall  be  considered  equal  to  two  voices,  what- 
ever may  be  the  number  of  shares  which  he  at 
such  time  may  possess  : 

Seventh:  And  it  is  hereby  agreed  that  the 
said  Livingston  may  withdraw  from  this  enter- 
prise at  any  period  he  thinks  proper,  after  the 
Five  Hundred  Pounds  before  mentioned  shall 
be  expended  in  the  first  experiment,  but  until 
he  signifies  to  the  said  Fulton  in  writing,  his 
determination  to  decline  any  further  pursuit  of 
the  experiment  he  shall  be  considered  as  a  part- 
ner in  the  undertaking. 


{Signed)  \ 


RoBKRT  R.  Livingston      (LS) 
Robert  Fulton.  (LS) 


Witnessed  by 
{Signed)    Robert  L.  Livingston. 


The  same  terms  were  accepted  in  the 
letter  written,  in  1814,  by  the  chancellor's 
heirs,  wherein  they  affirm  that  "they  will 
122 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

always  be  ready  and  willing  to  comply 
with  the  Articles  of  Agreement  entered 
into  and  executed  by  you  [Robert  Ful- 
ton] and  the  Honble.  Robert  R.  Living- 
ston." The  chancellor  left  no  son,  and  the 
paper  is  signed,  "Robert  L.  Livingston 
and  Edward  P.  Livingston." 

A  complete  description  of  Fulton's  trial 
boat  on  the  Seine  is  contained  in  an  inter- 
esting paper  in  present  possession  of  the 
Hon.  Peter  Barlow,  of  New  York,  who 
inherited  the  family  papers  of  his  famous 
kinsman,  Joel  Barlow,  former  minister  to 
France.  The  paper  was  prepared  for  Bar- 
low's signature  by  Fulton  himself,  in  the 
year  1811.  When  rival  companies  threat- 
ened to  invade  the  patent  rights  of  Fulton 
and  Livingston,  Fulton  writes  to  Barlow: 

I  want  your  deposition  as  follows : 

Joel  Barlow  of  the  City  of  Washington,  dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  being  duly  sworn  on  the  Holy 

123 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,  deposeth  and 
saith:  That  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1802, 
Robert  Fulton  at  that  time  residing  in  said 
Barlow's  house  in  Paris,  did  commence  experi- 
ments with  a  view  to  discover  the  principles  on 
which  boats  or  vessels  should  be  propelled 
through  the  water  by  the  power  of  Steam  en- 
gines,—  that  having  made  various  experiments 
on  a  model  about  4  feet  long  and  12  inches 
wide,  which  was  worked  by  two  Strong  clock 
springs  to  ascertain  the  best  mode  of  taking  the 
purchase,  whether  by  paddles,  skulls,  endless 
chains,  or  water  wheels,  he  about  Christmass 
1802  gave  the  preference  to  a  wheel  on  each 
side  of  the  model, — and  in  the  spring  of  1803, 
in  partnership  with  Robert  R.  Livingston,  our 
then  resident  minister  in  France,  did  build  a 
boat  70  French  feet  long,  8  French  feet  wide, 
3  French  feet  deep,  in  which  he  placed  a  Steam 
engine  of  about  8  horses  power,  which  was 
hired  of  Mr.  Perrier  for  the  experiment  on  this 
large  scale,  with  the  engine  in  the  boat  and  one 
water  wheel  of  about  12  feet  diameter  on  each 
side  of  the  boat,  the  power  from  the  engine 
being  communicated  to  the  wheels  by  mechan- 
ical combinations  which  I  do  not  recollect.     In 

124 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

July  1803  an  experiment  was  made  by  the  said 
Robert  Fulton  on  the  River  Seine  between  the 
Pont  Revolution  and  the  Barrier  de  Chaleot 
[^ic]  in  presence  of  a  great  number  of  people, 
and  particularly  Messrs.  Volney,  Carnot, 
Bossu  and  Proney,  who  were  members  of  the 
National  Institute  appointed  to  examine  the 
machinery.  The  speed  of  said  boat  on  Still 
water  was  three  miles  and  a  quarter  an  hour, 
and  on  this  velocity  and  the  power  of  the  engine 
I  recollect  that  the  said  Robert  Fulton,  formed 
tables  of  resistances,  powers  and  proportions, 
which  he  then  shewed  me  and  which  he  said 
should  govern  the  construction  of  steamboats 
designed  to  run  from  2  to  51/)  or  6  miles  an 
hour.  I  well  recollect  having  mentioned  to 
him  that  previous  to  the  experiment  on  the  large 
boat  he  had  estimated  a  boat  to  be  driven  16 
or  24  miles  an  hour  by  the  power  of  steam  and 
his  answer  was  that  by  the  experiments  he 
found  so  much  power  was  lost  in  taking  the 
purchase  on  the  water  that  he  was  of  opinion 
5  or  5^2  to  6  miles  an  hour  in  still  water  was 
as  much  as  a  boat  could  be  propelled  by  any 
steam  engine  now  known.  In  April  1804  the 
said  Robert  Fulton  left  my  house  for  London : 

125 


ROBERT  FULTON 

while  in  England  he  purchased  an  engine  of 
Messrs.  Boulton  and  Watt  which  was  shipped 
for  New  York  while  I  was  in  London,  and  which 
as  he  has  informed  me  is  in  the  first  boat  that  he 
built  on  Hudson's  River,  and  which  as  he  says 
drove  the  boat  with  the  velocity  which  he  had 
previously  calculated  it  had  the  power  of 
doing. 

During  my  residence  in  Paris  from  the  year 
[date  not  given]  to  1804,  I  never  heard  of  any 
other  experiments  on  the  Seine,  to  move  boats 
by  steam  except  the  one  made  by  the  said  R. 
Fulton.     Previous    to   the   year    [  ]    there 

was  a  project  by  Mr.  Rumsey  &  one  by  fitch  to 
establish  steamboats  on  the  Seine,  but  they  were 
only  projects  which  were  never  executed.  A 
Frenchman  of  the  name  of  Le  Blanc,  as  I  have 
been  informed,  made  in  1803  some  experiments 
on  the  Rhoan  to  navigate  boats  by  steam  which 
failed. 

This  document,  in  Fulton's  own  pen- 
manship, is  particularly  important  because 
it  outlines  his  two  experiments  and  gives 
some  details  never  before  known — first, 
that  the  engine  for  the  experimental  boat 
126 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

on  the  Seine  was  hired  from  M.  Perrier, 
who  in  1774  built  a  vessel,  and  made  an 
unsuccessful  trial  with  steam-power  on  the 
Seine.  He  was  probably  the  same  man  to 
whom  Barlow  refers  in  a  letter,  dated 
1802,  where  he  suggests  that  Fulton  can 
try  "relative  velocities  in  Perrier's  pond  on 
the  hill."    In  the  same  letter  Barlow  says: 

If  your  mind  is  satisfied  perhaps  it  is  not 
worth  while,  as  Livingston  seems  to  be  satisfied 
with  this  part  of  the  business.  .  .  .  He  talked 
of  forming  a  company  etc.  I  wish  that  Parker 
or  I  had  the  money  instead  of  him,  tho'  his  in- 
fluence in  the  State  of  New  York  would  be 
energetic. 

Other  important  facts  set  down  in  Bar- 
low's deposition  are  Fulton's  doubt  about 
a  possible  attainment  of  speed,  after  his 
jfirst  disappointment,  and  the  exact  dimen- 
sions of  the  trial  boat  on  the  Seine. 

In  1802,  Fulton  viewed  the  patent  of 
M.  Des  Blanc,  to  which  he  refers  in  the 
127 


ROBERT  FULTON 

foregoing  statement,  and  described  his  un- 
satisfactory impressions  in  his  note-book, 
hitherto  unpubhshed  and  now  in  posses- 
sion of  the  estate  of  Corneha  Livingston 
Crary.  He  concluded,  after  he  had  in- 
scribed a  series  of  drawings  and  descrip- 
tive text,  that  two  thirds  of  the  steam- 
power  which  the  Frenchman  sought  to 
apply  to  propulsion  would  be  lost.^ 

Fulton  also  dismissed  the  possibility  of 
Rumsey's  device,  and  all  others  which  had 
preceded  his  own.  His  biographer,  Col- 
den,  writes  that  Rumsey  had  seen  the  fail- 
ure of  Fitch's  enterprise,  but  Fulton 
"after  a  variety  of  calculations  came  to  an 
opinion  that  this  [Rumsey's]  was  the 
worst  of  all  the  methods  which  had  been 
proposed."^ 

^  See  Appendix,  page  328. 

2  Fitch  drew  water  in  through  the  bow,  and  forced  it  out 
through  the  stern.  His  boat,  the  prototype  of  Rumsey's, 
was  ridiculed — his  shareholders  withdrew,  one  by  one,  from 

128 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

As  early  as  1793,  in  a  letter  to  Earl 
Stanhope,  previously  mentioned,  Fulton 
defined  his  project  to  invent  a  new  process 
of  steam  navigation.  This  highly  impor- 
tant letter,  never  before  published,  is  here 
presented  through  the  personal  courtesy 
of  the  present  Earl  of  Stanhope,  owner  of 
the  Fulton- Stanhope  correspondence;  two 
drawings  are  included,  from  Fulton's 
originals. 

My  Lord: 

I  extremely  regret  not  having  received  your 
Lordship's  letter  in  time  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  an  interview  at  Exeter  as  a  Mechanical  con- 
versation with  your  Lordship  would  have  been 
infinitely  interesting  to  a  young  man.  To  atone 
for  such  loss  and  conform  with  your  Lordship's 

the  Company,  and  Fitch  in  disappointment  laid  aside  his 
boat  in  1792.  Rumsey's  idea  of  propulsion  was  by  means 
of  a  water  pump,  worked  by  a  steam  engine,  which  forced 
water  through  a  channel  from  the  bow  and  out  at  the  stern, 
beneath  the  rudder.  The  impetus  of  the  water,  as  it  was 
forced  through  a  square  pipe,  acted  as  an  impelling  power. 

129 


ROBERT  FULTON 

wish  I  have  made  some  slight  drawings  descrip- 
tive of  my  Ideas  on  the  Subject  of  the  steam- 
ship which  I  submit  with  diffidence  to  your 
Lordship.  In  June  '93  I  begun  the  experiments 
on  the  steam  ship :  my  first  design  was  to  imi- 
tate the  spring  in  the  tail  of  a  Salmon, — for 
this  purpose  I  supposed  a  large  bow  to  be 
wound  up  by  the  steam  engine  and  the  collected 
force  attached  to  the  end  of  a  paddle  as  in  No. 
1  to  be  let  off  which  would  urge  the  Vessel  for- 
ward. This  model  I  have  had  made  of  which 
No.  1  is  the  exact  representation  and  I  found 
it  to  spring  forward  in  proportion  to  the 
strength  of  the  bow,  About  20  yards,  but  by  the 
return  of  the  paddle  the  continuity  of  the 
motion  would  be  stoped.  I  then  endeavoured 
to  give  it  a  circular  motion  which  I  effected 
by  applying  two  paddles  on  an  axis :  then  the 
boat  moved  by  jerks.  There  was  too  great  a 
space  between  the  strokes ;  I  then  applied  three 
paddles  forming  an  equilateral  triangle  to  which 
I  gave  a  circular  motion  by  winding  up  the  bow. 
I  then  found  it  to  move  in  a  gradual  and  even 
motion  100  yards  with  the  same  bow  which  be- 
fore drove  it  but  20  yards. 

No.  2  is  the  figure  of  my  present  model,  on 

130 


FULTON'S   FIRST   PLAN    FOR   STEAM    NANIGATION 

Made  in  1793,* fourteen  years  before  the  launching  of  the  Clermont,     Now  first  published. 

These  drawings  were  sent  by  Fulton  to  the  Right  Honorable  the  Earl  of  Stanhope  in 

November.  1793.     This  reproduction  is  from  a  copy  in  water-color  sent  to  the 

author  by  the  present  earl.    (See  Fulton's  letter,  pages  129-134) 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

which  there  are  two  equilateral  triangles,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  boat  acting  on  the  same 
shaft  which  crosses  the  Boat  or  Ship  and  turns 
with  the  triangles.  This,  ray  Lord,  is  the  line 
of  experiment  which  led  me  to  the  triangular 
paddles  which  at  first  sight  will  convey  the  Idea 
of  a  wheel  or  perpendicular  oars  which  are  no 
longer  in  the  water  than  they  are  doing  execu- 
tion. I  have  found  by  repeated  experiment 
that  three  or  six  answer  better  than  any  other 
number  as  they  do  not  counteract  each  other. 
By  being  hung  a  little  above  the  water  it  allows 
a  short  space  from  the  delivery  of  one  to  the 
entrance  of  the  other,  it  likewise  enters  the 
water  more  on  a  perpendicular  as  the  dotted 
lines  will  shew  its  situation  when  it  enters  and 
when  it  is  covered  the  circular  dots  exhibit  its 
passage  through  the  water.  Your  Lordship 
will  please  to  observe  in  the  small  wheel  with  a 
number  of  paddles  A.  B.  C.  and  D.  strike  almost 
flat  in  the  water  and  rise  in  the  same  situation 
whilst  E.  is  the  only  one  that  pulls,  the  others 
act  against  it  which  renders  the  purchase  fruit- 
less ;  while  E.  is  urging  the  Ship  forwards  B.  A. 
is  pressing  her  into  the  water  and  C.  D.  is  pull- 
ing her  out,  but  remove  all  the  paddles  except 

*  133 


ROBERT  FULTON 

E  and  she  moves  on  in  a  direct  line.  The  per- 
pendicular triangular  Paddles  are  supposed  to 
be  placed  in  a  cast  Iron  wheel  which  should 
ever  hang  above  the  water,  it  will  answer  as 
a  fly  and  brace  to  the  perpendicular  oars.  This 
boat  I  have  repeatedly  let  go  and  ever  found 
her  to  move  in  a  steady  direction  in  proportion 
to  the  original  purchase.  With  regard  to  the 
formation  of  ships  moved  by  steam  I  have  been 
of  opinion  that  they  should  be  long,  narrow 
and  flat  at  bottom,  with  a  broad  keel  as  a  flat 
Vessel  will  not  occupy  so  much  space  in  the 
water ;  it  consequently  has  not  so  much  resis- 
tance. A  letter  containing  your  Lordship's 
opinion  of  this  mode  of  gaining  a  purchase  on 
the  water  and  directed  for  me  at  the  postoffice, 
Exeter,  will  much  oblige  your  Lordship's  most 

obedient  and 

Very  humble  servant, 

RoBprnx  Fulton. 

Torquay,  November  4th, 
1793. 

The  Right  Honorable 

The  Earl  of  Stanhope. 

134 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

The  foregoing  letter  provides  valuable 
historical  proof  of  Fulton's  early  thought 
upon  the  problem  which,  fourteen  years 
later,  he  carried  to  perfection,  and  of  his 
individual  conception  of  the  theory  of 
steam  navigation;  for  he  proposes  an 
original  method,  unlike  those  preliminary 
experiments  which  he  subsequently  noted 
as  inadequate.  It  is  therefore  evident  that 
Fulton  did  not  stumble  by  mere  chance 
upon  his  formula  of  success.  Numerous 
experiments  preceded  his  ultimate  discov- 
ery of  proper  proportions,  which  he  tabu- 
lated in  his  "Tables  of  Resistance,"  the 
formula  mentioned  in  Barlow's  deposition. 

One  manuscript  in  possession  of  the 
Rev.  Robert  Fulton  Crary,  D.D.,  Ful- 
ton's grandson,  to  whom  it  was  presented 
by  his  friend  Philip  Hamilton,  Esq.,  son 
of  Alexander  Hamilton,  describes  with 
painstaking  accuracy,  in  Fulton's  own 
135 


ROBERT  FULTON 

writing,  no  fewer  than  six  experiments  in 
which  Fulton  tested  his  discovery  with 
varying  degrees  of  success.  The  paper 
is  dated  "Paris,  the  19  Nevose,  Anno 
II.  January  the  9th,  1803  [^ic],"  and  is 
entitled  "Experiments  on  the  model  of  a 
boat  to  be  moved  by  a  steam  engine." 

A  boat  3  feet  long  and  8  inches  wide 
served  as  model.  It  was  propelled  by  two 
strong  clock  springs,  and  Fulton  made  a 
comparative  table  to  denote  gradations 
in  power,  and  the  progressive  distance 
gained  in  each  test.  He  concluded  that 
"large  paddles  would  be  unwieldy  and  in- 
convenient, hence  for  the  large  experi- 
ment it  will  be  best  to  commence  with 
paddles  which  present  about  twice  the  sur- 
face of  the  boat's  bow  reduced  to  flat  re- 
sistance. .  .  .  The  power  of  the  steam 
engine  is  1500  pounds  running  two  miles 
an  hour,  or  equal  to  3000  lb.  running  1 
136 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

mile   an   hour.      Thus   the   3000   pounds 
ought  to  draw  her  12  miles  an  hour." 

It  will  be  noted  that  at  this  point  Ful- 
ton felt  himself  master  of  the  situation, 
and  that,  throughout  all  his  manoeuvers, 
he  contemplated  the  introduction  of  his 
patent  in  his  native  land  is  indisputably 
shown  by  many  references.  A  sketch  of  a 
steamboat  with  two  side  paddles  was 
made  on  June  5,  1802,  while  Fulton  at 
Plombieres  was  experimenting  with  his 
submarine  contrivances  for  the  French 
government.  It  is  entitled,  "The  Steam- 
boat from  New  York  to  Albany  in  12 
hours,"  and  is  in  the  estate  of  Fulton's 
daughter,  Cornelia  Livingston  Crary.  As 
a  preface  to  the  detailed  experiments  which 
follow,  Fulton  asserted: 

Propelling  a  boat  through  water  is  the  act 
of  separating  two  bodies — the  boat  from  its 
oars  or  paddles,  or  whatever  else  is  applied — 

137 


ROBERT  FULTON 

and  this  is  governed  by  laws  reducible  to  simple 
calculations. 

A  number  of  pictured  tests  demonstrate 
his  mode  of  application.  Then  he  includes 
a  description  of  the  trial  trip  at  Plom- 
bieres : 

The  model  being  arranged  a  small  rivulet 
was  stopped  so  as  to  form  a  stagnant  pond  66 
feet  long,  9  or  10  feet  wide  and  from  3  to  2 
feet  deep  at  the  upper  end ;  thus  prepared  and 
with  a  good  watch  which  beat  the  seconds,  the 
experiments  were  commenced. 

Five  detailed  demonstrations  follow, 
and  Fulton  says: 

As  there  is  much  space  in  this  boat  I  will 
add  to  her  velocity  by  making  her  go  12  miles 
an  liour  instead  of  8 — the  additional  weight  of 
this  engine  will  be  about  3  tons  making  in  total 
21  tons,  having  23  tons  for  passengers  equal 
to  230  at  200  lbs  for  each  this  boat  would  make 
the  voyage  [from  New  York  to  Albany]  in  14 

138 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

hours  instead  of  20  as  there  would  be  6  hours 
saved  in  time  it  would  merit  a  dollar  extraor- 
dinary in  the  price.  The  expense  of  such  a 
boat  in  coals  and  men  would  not  be  25  dollars  a 
day.  Suppose  then  that  the  commerce  between 
New  York  and  Albany  can  give  to  such  a  boat 
150  passengers  per  day  at  3  dollars  each,  the 
amount  would  be  450  dollars.  Hence  it  seems 
advisible  to  go  quick,  carry  cheap,  and  thus 
avoid  the  competition  of  boats  with  sails  or 
carriages. 

These  hitherto  unpublished  words  con- 
tain the  first  recorded  prophecy  of  the 
great  Hudson  River  Day  Line. 

Fulton's  foresight  extended  farther 
even  in  that  day  of  unrealized  possibilities. 
His  next  record  is  a  "Note  on  running  16 
miles  an  hour."  This  speed  cannot  be  ac- 
complished in  small  boats,  he  decides : 

For  great  speed  requires  great  power  and  a 
large  and  heavy  engine.  But  suppose  a  boat 
12  feet  wide  and  200   feet  long,  drawing  one 

139 


ROBERT  FULTON 

foot  of  water.  She  would  displace  2000  cube 
feet  or  68  tons  to  drive  such  a  boat  16  miles 
an  hour  will  require  9216  lbs  purchase.  .  .  . 
Suppose  200  (passengers)  at  3  dollars  each  or 
600  dollars  —  Such  a  boat  would  make  the  voy- 
age in  10  or  12  hours.  In  which  time  the 
Engine  would  not  burn  more  than  3  tons  of 
coals  worth  perhaps  15  dollars,  expense  of  men 
perhaps  5  dollars,  total  20.  To  go  16  miles 
the  chains  must  run  24<  miles  or  36  feet  a  sec- 
ond. The  engine  makes  3 — the  multiple  then  is 
12  to  one.  Here  it  is  worthy  of  observation 
that  as  the  boat  and  engine  increases  in  size,  the 
expense  in  proportion  to  their  passengers  is 
diminished  in  the  first  and  small  boat  which 
carries  only  50  persons  their  expense  is  10  dol- 
lars. This  is  twenty  cents  each  and  the  time 
20  hours. 

Second  boat — 230  persons — the  Voyage  14 
hours — the   expense  25   dollars — this   is   about 

11  cents  per  person. 

In  the  third  boat  which  goes  the  Voyage  in 

12  hours  and  carries  380  persons,  the  expense, 
say  30  dollars,  or  8  cents  per  person.  The 
reason  of  this  is  the  difference  in  the  squares 
of  the  boats.     A  boat  6  feet  wide  and  90  feet 

140 


l^/i/n^^i-'U'f^--'^     (ct'i-''^  fc7/2-£tt^/c^!*^ 


^  ^--ec*!-'^'^. 


f'^/e^utM^'^S'^J.c^  /S0£ 


^LJtX-cI^'^ 


l-UI. TON'S    I-IkST   PRUPHIXV   Ol-    STEAM    NA\ir.AT10N    ON   TH1-:    HIIJSON 

This  sheet  is  the  title-paye  of  tlic  inventor's  note-hook  of  liis  experiments.     It  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
est..ie"f  I- niton's  (l,ui^;hier.  Cornelia  Livingston    Crary,  and    has   never  before  been    published. 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

long  is  only  14  tons  whereas  a  boat  12  feet  wide 
only  twice  the  resistance  of  the  first,  will  carry 
near  5  times  the  burden  or  68  tons  and  instead 
of  50  will  carry  380  persons  which  is  7  times 
the  number  and  this  enables  one  to  add  to  the 
power  and  velocity  of  the  engine  yet  carry 
cheaper  than  in  the  first  case. 

Rob"^.  Fulton. 

It  should  be  observed  that  these  proph- 
ecies antedated  the  experiment  which 
Fulton  made,  at  a  joint  expense  with 
Livingston,  on  the  Seine  in  1803.^  Their 
trial  boat  was  seventy  feet  long,  eight 
feet  wide,  and  of  light  draft.  The  hull 
proved  too  weak  to  bear  the  weight  of  the 
machinery,  and  the  boat  snapped  in  two 
and  deposited  the  engine  in  the  river-bed. 
The  enterprise,  because  of  this  strange 
mishap,  was  viewed  with  public  disfavor, 

^A  receipt,  signed  by  Fulton  on  17  Ventose,  An  11, 
shows  that  he  had  received  from  the  Chancellor  in  nine 
payments,  a  total  of  11,000  francs  —  the  Chancellor's  half- 
share  of  the  expense. — In  "  The  Livingstons  of  Callendar."'' 

143 


ROBERT  FULTON 

and  probably  influenced  the  adverse  de- 
cision of  Napoleon's  savants,  who  con- 
demned its  utility. 

The  preceding  January,  1803,  Fulton 
had  formally  offered  his  steamboat  to  the 
consideration  of  a  Government  commis- 
sion, and  the  First  Consul  appointed  three 
members  of  the  Institute  to  study  its  mer- 
its. Fulton's  original  letter,  in  French,  is 
on  file  in  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts  et 
Metiers  in  Paris,  together  with  his  accom- 
panying drawing.^ 

The  unfortunate  accident  which  post- 
poned the  official  trial  trip  from  the 
early  spring  of  1803  to  midsummer, 
brought  to  Fulton,  according  to  his  own 
confession,  a  despondency  which  he  never 
felt  on  any  other  occasion  of  his  life. 
After  a  restless  night,  he  was  precipitately 
visited  by  a  messenger,  who  exclaimed : 

^  See  Appendix,  page  333. 

144 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

"Oh,  sir,  the  boat  has  broken  in  pieces 
and  gone  to  the  bottom!'* 

This  disturbing  news  was  literally  true. 
Fulton  rushed  to  the  spot,  and  labored  for 
twenty-four  consecutive  hours,  without 
rest  or  refreshment,  to  raise  the  boat  to 
the  surface.  The  machinery  was  compar- 
atively uninjured,  but  the  boat  was  so 
wrecked  that  it  had  to  be  virtually  rebuilt. 
The  imprudent  exposure  and  the  labors 
incident  to  the  struggle  for  the  recovery  of 
the  invention  produced  a  permanent  con- 
stitutional weakness  of  the  lungs  which 
resulted  in  Fulton's  subsequent  delicacy  to 
the  close  of  his  life.  The  vivid  description 
of  the  accident  which  Colden,  Fulton's 
biographer,  has  given,  is  corroborated 
by  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale  in  his 
"Memories  of  a  Hundred  Years"  through 
an  interview  with  Edward  Church,  an 
American,  who  was  with  Fulton  in 
145 


ROBERT  FULTON 

France,  and  an  eye-witness  of  the  event. 
These  records  amply  refute  a  rumor,  cur- 
rent through  Paris  at  the  time,  that  Ful- 
ton himself  had  purposely  sunk  the  boat 
because  chagrined  and  disappointed  by  the 
continued  inactivity  and  lack  of  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Napoleonic  commission. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  boat  occupied 
several  months,  and  not  until  July  was  it 
again  in  readiness  for  the  official  demon- 
stration. Joel  Barlow  and  Robert  Fulton 
had  a  friend,  Fulner  Skipwith  by  name, 
who,  during  the  preceding  year  of  1802, 
had  written  to  Fulton  asking  the  details  of 
patent  laws  in  France.  Fulton  wrote  his 
reply  from  Paris,  which  is  given  in  the 
Appendix. 

When   the    postponed   trial   trip    was 

about  to  take  place,  Fulton  wrote  again  to 

Mr.  Skipwith,  with  whom  his  friendship 

had  increased.     Mr.   Skipwith  had  been 

146 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

married  in  Paris,  while  Fulton  was  experi- 
menting upon  the  French  coast,  and  in 
1802  his  first  child  was  born.  Fulton's 
merry  letter  of  invitation  should  be  read 
in  the  light  of  this  recent  happy  experi- 
ence to  be  fully  understood:^ 

Paris,  the  5th  Thermidor,  Anno  11 
(24  July,  1803) 
Mr.  Skipwith, 

Mi/  dear  friend.  You  have  experienced  all  the 
anxiety  of  a  fond  father,  on  a  child's  coming 
into  the  world.  So  have  I.  The  little  cherub, 
now  plump  as  a  partridge,  advances  to  the  per- 
fection of  her  nature  and  each  day  presents 
some  new  charm.  I  wish  mine  may  do  the  same. 
Some  weeks  hence,  when  you  will  be  sitting  in 
one  corner  of  the  room  and  Mrs.  Skipwith  in 
the  other,  learning  the  little  creature  to  walk, 
the  first  unsteady  step  will  scarcely  balance  the 
tottering  frame ;  but  you  will  have  the  pleasing 
perspective  of  seeing  it  grow  to  a  steady  walk 
and  then  to  dancing.      I  wish  mine  may  do  the 

1  Original  in  possession  of  C.  H.  Hart,  of  Philadelphia. 

147 


ROBERT  FULTON 

same.  My  boy,  who  is  all  bones  and  corners, 
just  like  his  daddy  and  whose  birth  has  given 
me  much  uneasiness,  or  rather,  anxiety, — is  just 
learning  to  walk,  and  I  hope  in  time  he  will  be 
an  active  runner.  I  therefore  have  the  honour 
to  invite  you  and  the  ladies  to  see  his  first  move- 
ments on  Monday  next  from  6  till  9  in  the  eve- 
ning between  the  Barriere  des  Bons  Hommes 
and  the  steam  engine.  May  our  children,  my 
friend,  be  an  honour  to  their  country  and  a 
comfort    to    the    gray    hairs    of    their    doting 

parents. 

Yours 

R.  Fulton. 


The  trial  of  the  boat  followed,  and  was 
accounted  a  success,  although  the  desired 
speed  was  not  attained. 

A  contemporaneous  account  published 
in  the  "Recueil  Polytechnique  des  Fonts 
et  Chaussees":  Paris,  1803,  was  reprinted 
in  "Cassier's  Magazine,"  and  may  well 
be  accorded  prominence,  as  the  best  ac- 
count to  be  obtained : 
148 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

On  the  21st  Thermidor^  a  trial  was  made  of 
a  new  invention  of  which  the  complete  and  bril- 
liant success  should  have  important  conse- 
quences for  the  commerce  and  internal  naviga- 
tion of  France.  During  the  past  two  or  three 
months  there  has  been  seen  at  the  end  of 
quay  Chaillot,  a  boat  of  curious  appearance, 
equipped  with  two  large  wheels,  mounted  on  an 
axle  like  a  chariot,  while  behind  these  wheels 
was  a  kind  of  large  stove  with  a  pipe,  as  if  there 
were  some  kind  of  a  small  fire  engine  (pompe  a 
feu)  intended  to  operate  the  wheels  of  the  boat. 
Several  weeks  ago  some  evil-minded  persons 
threw  this  structure  down.  The  builder,  hav- 
ing repaired  this  damage,  received,  the  day  be- 
fore yesterday,  a  most  flattering  reward  for 
his  labour  and  talent. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  aided  by  only 
three  persons,  he  put  his  boat  in  motion  with 
two  other  boats  attached  behind  it,  and  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  he  produced  the  curious  spec- 
tacle of  a  boat  moved  by  wheels,  like  a  chariot, 
these  wheels  being  provided  with  paddles  or 
flat  plates,  and  being  moved  by  a  fire-engine. 

In  following  it  along  the  quay,  the  speed 
1  August  9,  1803. 

149 


ROBERT  FULTON 

against  the  current  of  the  Seine  appeared  to  us 
about  that  of  a  rapid  pedestrian,  that  is,  about 
2,400  toises  ^  an  hour ;  while  in  going  down- 
stream it  was  more  rapid.  It  ascended  and  de- 
scended four  times  from  Les  Bons-Hommes  as 
far  as  the  pump  of  Chaillot ;  it  was  manoeuvered 
with  facihty,  turning  to  the  right  and  left,  came 
to  anchor,  started  again,  and  passed  by  the 
swimming  school. 

One  of  the  boats  took  to  the  quay  a  number 
of  savants  and  representatives  of  the  Institute, 
among  whom  were  Citizens  Bossut,  Carnot, 
Prony,  Perrier,  Volney,  etc.  Doubtless  they 
will  make  a  report  which  will  give  to  this  dis- 
covery all  the  eclat  which  it  merits ;  for  this 
mechanism,  applied  to  our  rivers,  the  Seine, 
the  Loire,  and  the  Rhone,  will  have  most  ad- 
vantageous consequences  upon  our  internal 
navigation.  The  tows  or  barges  which  now  re- 
quire four  months  to  come  from  Nantes  to 
Paris,  would  arrive  promptly  in  ten  to  fifteen 
days.  The  author  of  this  brilliant  invention  is 
M.  Fulton,  an  American  and  a  celebrated  me- 
chanic. 

^The  toise  was  an  old  French  measurement =6. 395  Eng- 
lish feet. 

150 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

In  this  first  success,  Fulton  was  mindful 
of  the  needs  and  opportunities  for  steam 
navigation  in  America.  To  this  end  he 
wrote,  during  the  same  month,  August, 
1803,  to  Boulton  &  Watt  of  England  to 
order  a  steam-engine  for  a  boat  to  be 
launched  in  America:^ 

Paris,  6th  August,  1803. 
Gentlemen : 

If  there  is  not  a  law  which  prohibits  the  ex- 
portation of  steam  engines  to  the  United  States 
of  America,  or  if  you  can  get  a  permit  to  ex- 
port parts  of  an  engine,  will  you  be  so  good 
as  to  make  me  a  cylinder  of  24  horse  power 
double  effect,  the  piston  making  a  four  foot 
stroke;  also  the  piston  and  piston  rod. 

The  valves  and  movements  for  opening  and 
shutting  them. 

The  air  pump  piston  and  rod. 

^The  letter,  now  in  possession  of  George  Tangj'e,  Esq., 
of  Birmingham,  England,  was  recently  appended  to  the 
presidential  address  of  Mr.  John  Ward  at  the  Session  of  the 
Institution  of  Engineers  and  Ship-Builders  in  Scotland. 

9  151 


ROBERT  FULTON 

The  condenser  with  its  communications  to 
the  cylinder  and  air-pump.   .   .   .   etc. 

Tlie  other  parts  can  be  made  in  New  York, 
and  as  it  will  save  the  expense  of  transport, 
and  they  require  a  particular  arrangement 
which  must  be  done  while  I  am  present,  I  prefer 
to  have  them  done  there.  Therefore  if  it  is 
permitted  to  export  the  above  parts  you  will 
confer  on  me  a  great  obligation  by  favoring 
me  with  them,  and  placing  me  the  next  on  your 
list.   .  .   . 

When  finished  please  to  pack  them  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  to  receive  injury,  and  send  them 
to  the  nearest  port,  which  I  suppose  is  Liver- 
pool, to  be  shipped  to  New  York  to  the  address 
of  Brockhurst  Livingston,  Esq.  The  amount 
of  the  expenses  will  be  placed  to  your  order 
in  the  hands  of  George  William  Erving,  Amer- 
ican Consul,  Nicholas  Lane,  Lombard  Street, 
No.  10,  London.  The  situation  for  which  this 
engine  is  designed,  and  the  machinery  which  is 
to  be  combined  with  it,  will  not  admit  of  placing 
the  condenser  under  the  cylinder  as  usual,  but 
I  hope  the  communicating  tube  to  the  condenser 
will  not  render  the  condensation  less  perfect 
or  injure  the  making  of  the  engine. 

152 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Should  you  find  a  difficulty  in  getting  a  permit 
to  export  the  parts  above  mentioned,  I  hope 
to  be  able  to  obtain  it  through  our  Minister, 
Mr.  Monroe.  And  as  there  is  some  difficulty 
in  passing  letters  to  and  from  Paris  and  Bir- 
mingham, which  may  lose  much  time,  you  will  be 
so  good  as  to  furnish  me  the  above  parts  as 
soon  as  possible  without  waiting  to  hear  fur- 
ther from  me. 

Please  to  write  as  soon  as  possible  under 
cover  to  Mr.  Erving  as  before  mentioned.  In 
which  I  beg  you  to  answer  the  following  ques- 
tions : 

What  must  be  the  size  of  the  boiler  for  such 
an  engine.'' 

How  much  space  for  the  water  and  how  much 
for  the  steam.''  What  is  the  most  improved 
method  of  making  the  boiler  and  economic  mode 
of  setting  it.^*  How  many  pounds  of  coal  will 
such  an  engine  require  per  hour,  and  what  is 
the  expense  at  Birmingham  ? 

Can  you  inform  me  what  is  the  difference  in 
heating  with  coals  or  wood,  as  in  most  cases 
wood  must  be  used  in  America;  and  must  not 
the  furnace  be  made  different  when  wood  is  to 
be  used.f* 

153 


ROBERT  FULTON 

What  will  be  the  consequences  of  condensing 
with  water  salt,  as  in  places  where  the  engine 
is  to  work  the  water  is  brackish? 

What  will  be  the  interior  and  exterior  diame- 
ter of  the  cylinder  and  its  length,  and  what 
will  be  the  velocity  of  the  piston  per  second? 
This  information  will  enable  me  to  combine  the 
other  parts  of  the  machinery. 

When  can  the  engine  be  finished,  and  how 
much  will  be  the  expense?  Your  favoring  me 
with  the  execution  of  this  order,  and  answering 
the  above  questions  will  much  oblige 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

Robert  Fulton. 
Rue  Vaugirard,  No.  50  Paris. 

Can  the  position  and  arrangement  of  the 
cylinder  condenser  and  air-pump  be  adhered 
to  as  in  the  drawing,  without  injuring  the  work- 
ing of  the  engine? 

This  is  the  first  authentic  order  of  the 
engine  for  the  Clermont,  but  it  was  not 
the  last,  for  the  opposition  which  Fulton 
154 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

expected  in  gaining  permission  of  trans- 
port was  duly  encountered.  Boulton  & 
Watt  declined  the  order  on  October  4, 
1803,  as  they  had  been  unable  to  obtain 
permission  to  forward  the  engine  to 
America.  The  following  month,  Fulton's 
hope  revived,  and  he  wrote,  as  he  had 
planned,  to  the  Honorable  James  Monroe, 
who  was  at  that  time  American  minister 
at  the  Court  of  St.  James.  The  letter  is 
preserved  at  the  Lenox  Library,  New 
York. 

Amsterdam,  November  3rd,  1803. 

His  Excellency  James  Monroe: 

Sir:  You  have  perhaps  heard  of  the  suc- 
cess of  my  experiment  for  navigating  boats  by 
Steam  Engines ;  and  you  will  feel  the  impor- 
tance of  establishing  such  boats  on  the  Missis- 
sippi and  other  rivers  of  the  United  States  as 
soon  as  possible.  With  this  view  I  have  written 
to  Messrs.  Boulton  &  Watt  of  Birmingham,  to 
forward  me  a  steam  engine  to  America.     They 

155 


ROBERT  FULTON 

answer  that  they  cannot  export  the  engine  with- 
out the  permission  of  Government,  I  therefore 
beg  of  you  to  apply  to  Government  for  permis- 
sion for  you  to  ship  a  Steam  Engine  of  a  24) 
horse  power  to  New  York.  It  will  be  well  to 
ask  this  permission  for  yourself  without  men- 
tioning my  name,  as  I  have  reason  to  believe 
Government  will  not  be  much  disposed  to  favour 
any  wish  of  mine.^  Messrs.  Boulton  has  a 
House  of  Agency  [in]  London  Street  in  the 
City,  who  will  inform  you  what  office  to  apply 
to.  And  Mr.  Huntingdon,  a  young  gentleman 
who  left  this  [place]  some  days  ago  will  call 
on  you,  or  may  be  heard  of  at  Mr.  Erving's 
[American  Consul]  will  go  to  the  offices  with 
your  request  and  transact  the  business  for  me, 
but  perhaps  your  best  and  shortest  mode  will 
be  to  apply  direct  to  Lord  Hawksbury.  Your 
desire  to  see  useful  arts  introduced  or  created 
in  our  country  is  the  strongest  reason  for  your 
urging  the  permission  and  accepting  no  refusal ; 
— the  fact  is  I  cannot  establish  the  Boat  with- 
out the   engine.      The   question   is  then, — shall 

1  The  British  ministry  were  watchinff  Fulton's  ofFer  to 
the  French  Government  of  the  submarine  vessel  Nautilus 
(see  page  79). 

156 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

we  or  shall  we  not  have  such  boats?  Please  to 
write  me  under  cover  to  Mr.  Livingston  as  soon 
as  possible  the  result  of  your  application.  .  .   . 

ROBEET    FuiiTON. 

P.  S.  For  greater  safety  I  take  the  liberty  to 
inclose  in  your  letter  one  for  Boulton  &  Watt, 
which  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  order  into  the 
Post  Office,  and  when  you  obtain  the  permission 
send  it  directly  to  them.  I  should  apologize 
for  this  trouble,  but  that  I  have  no  hope  of 
success  but  through  your  goodness. 

The  letter  to  Boulton  &  Watt  was  in- 
closed, but  bears  no  mark  of  post.  Per- 
haps Mr.  Monroe  decided  that  America 
did  not  want  such  boats,  perhaps  he  hesi- 
tated to  interfere  in  a  matter  where  per- 
mission had  already  been  refused  to  a 
young  enthusiast.  The  letter  to  the  en- 
gine-builders (which  is  in  the  Lenox  Li- 
brary) briefly  reiterated  the  former  order. 

There  is  a  strange  pathos  in  the  inex- 
157 


ROBERT  FULTON. 

plicable  delays  which  postponed  the  im- 
portant invention.  Presumably  Fulton 
had  no  reply  from  Mr.  Monroe,  for  he 
wrote  to  him  again,  from  Paris,  Novem- 
ber 17  [1803],  renewing  his  request.  He 
says  in  part : 

I  wrote  you  on  the  3rd  inst  from  Amsterdam, 
and  two  letters  afterwards  from  Rotterdam  on 
a  subject  which  a  good  conveyance  gives  me  an 
opportunity  to  repeat.  Having  succeeded  in 
my  experiment  for  navigating  boats  by  steam,  I 
wrote  to  Messrs  Boulton,  Watt  &  Company  of 
Birmingham  to  forward  me  a  steam  engine  to 
America.  They  write  me  in  answer  they  can- 
not export  the  engine  without  the  permission 
of  Government,     etc. 

No  action  followed,  and  Fulton,  who 
had  returned  to  FiUgland  in  May,  1804, 
made  a  personal  attempt  to  gain  the  gov- 
ernmental permission  of  export.  At  the 
same  time  he  was  busy  urging  his  torpedo 
158 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

project  upon  the  British  ministry;  he 
tarried  in  London  and  spent  his  days  in 
eager  anticipation  of  the  great  decision. 
Barlow  and  his  wife  were  en  route  to 
America  after  their  long  sojourn  in 
France,  where  Fulton  had  for  seven  years 
shared  their  home.  Fulton  wrote  for  their 
passport  through  London,  and  took  this, 
and  every  opportunity,  to  get  the  engine 
for  the  first  steamboat  in  America :  ^ 


London,  Story  Gate  Coffee  House, 
the  30th  of  May,  180 4. 

Mr.  Hammond  will  have  the  goodness  to 
obtain  from  Government  permission  that  Mr 
&  Mrs  Barlow  may  pass  through  London  on 
their  way  to  America,  to  which  they  purpose 
to  sail  in  August,  the  object  is  to  consult  the 
London    physicians    on    Mr.    Barlow's    health. 

1  His  letter,  which  is  in  possession  of  the  estate  of  Cornelia 
Livingston  Crary,  Robert  Fulton's  daughter,  has  never 
before  been  published. 

159 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Whatever  reasons  Government  might  have  to 
be  displeased  with  Mr.  Barlow,  I  am  convinced 
that  they  will  find  no  umbrage  in  his  present 
sentiments  and  tranquil  disposition.  His  late 
writings  to  prove  the  happy  effects  of  British, 
in   preference   to   French,    colonization   by   ex- 

DESCRIPTION    OF    ILLUSTRATION    ON    FACING    PAGE 

Below  the  title  is  printed  the  following:  "Robert  Fulton, 
Inventor  of  Steam  Navigation,  exhibiting  his  plans  to  Na- 
poleon Bonaparte,  'Great  Man,'  says  Fulton,  'if  you  will 
give  me  your  support  to  put  these  plans  into  execution,  you 
can  have  the  largest  and  most  powerful  Navy  in  the  World.* 
This  invention,  however,  appeared  so  extraordinary  to  Na- 
poleon at  the  time  that  he  could  not  conceive  it  practicable; 
yet,  from  the  forcible  impression  it  made  upon  his  mind,  he 
deemed  it  expedient  to  lay  the  particulars  before  the  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences  in  Paris  for  their  serious  consideration. 
The  following  was  the  reply  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  to 
Napoleon,  '  Sire,  we  have  effectively  found  a  motive  power 
in  steam,  but  of  a  nature  comparatively  so  feeble  that  a 
child's  toy  could  hardly  be  put  in  motion  by  it.'  Such  was 
the  reply  of  these  sapient  Academicians.  Nor  was  it  again 
until  Napoleon  beheld  from  St.  Helena  a  steamship  that  he 
remembered  the  words  of  Fulton,  and  perceived  how  grossly 
the  Academy  of  Sciences  had  been  mistaken." 

The  above  indicates  that  the  lithograj)h  (made  in  Phila- 
delphia) was  executed  after  the  death  of  Napoleon  in  18-21. 
Fulton  died  four  months  before  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 
This  picture,  from  the  only  copy  known,  is  owned  by  Mrs. 
Hermann  H.  Cammann. 

160 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

tending  the  arts,  civilization  and  liberal  ideas, 
are  worthy  your  admiration. 

I  also  beg  permission  to  ship  one  of  Mr. 
Watt's  Steam  engines  to  New  York  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  into  effect  an  experiment  in 
which  I  have  fortunately  succeeded, — that  of 
navigating  boats  against  currents  of  not  more 
than  4  miles  an  hour,  hence  calculated  for  most 
of  our  rivers.  Your  Government  must  be  sensi- 
ble that  every  improvement  which  may  tend  to 
augment  the  produce  of  industry  in  America, 
creates  the  means  of  paying  for  British  manu- 
factures, increases  the  demand  and  adds  to  the 
wealth  of  England.  The  time  will  come  when 
America  alone  will  take  more  of  your  manufac- 
tures than  you  now  diffuse  over  the  whole  globe, 
and  is  to  give  you  a  perspective  of  immense 
wealth,  which  it  is  your  interest  to  nourish. 

I  hope  Government  will  see  nothing  impudent 
in  these  two  requests.  I  shall  esteem  it  a  favor 
if  they  are  granted. 

The  letter  to  Mr.   Erving,  American 
Consul,  is  also  on  record.    It  was  indorsed 
163 


ROBERT  FULTON 

by  Mr.  Barlow,  who  aided  Fulton  at 
every  turn.  In  February  of  1804  he 
traveled  to  Birmingham  to  personally  or- 
der the  engine,  and  in  January,  1805, 
made  a  payment  of  £548,  English  money, 
for  it.  But  not  until  March  was  the  ac- 
tual permission  granted,  when  Fulton 
paid  his  treasury  fee,  £2,  14,  6,  on  receiv- 
ing permission  to  ship  the  engine  to 
America. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Fulton  contem- 
plated an  early  return  to  America,  when 
he  left  France  in  1804,  but  he  was  de- 
tained by  the  negotiations  with  the  British 
Government  which  repeatedlj'^  buoyed  him 
to  expect  an  acceptance  of  his  torpedo 
project.  Four  days  after  his  arrival  in 
England  he  wrote  to  Thomas  Jefferson, 
then  President  of  the  United  States,  as 
follows : 

164 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

London,  May  the  23rd,  1804.1 
His  Excellency  Thomas  Jefferson  : 

Sir:  On  arriving  in  England  I  find  I  shall  be 
detained  some  weeks  longer  than  I  first  calcu- 
lated. I  therefore  forward  your  letters  com- 
mitted to  my  care  in  Paris.  I  am,  Sir,  with 
profound  respect, 

Your  most  obedient, 

Robert  Fulton. 

Successive  disappointments  ensued. 
Fulton,  in  touch  with  the  English  states- 
men of  the  day,  continued  as  a  neutral 
observer  to  study  international  conditions. 
Determined  to  return  to  America  as  soon 
as  possible  to  establish  his  project  of  steam 
navigation,  he  was  equally  determined,  if 
persuasion  and  demonstration  would  make 
it  possible,  to  interest  and  engage  the 
British  navy  in  his  torpedo  proposition. 

1  From  JeiFerson  Papers,  Series  6,  Vol.  IX,  No.  211. 
Library  of  Congress. 

165 


ROBERT  FULTON 

I^etters  to  many  contemporary  men  of 
state  show  that  the  chief  impulse  of  his 
mind  was  to  establish  his  plan  for  univer- 
sal peace. 

Finally,  in  1806,  the  British  ministry 
rejected  his  project  of  the  submarine  tor- 
pedo. Fulton  immediately  set  about  to 
arrange  his  affairs  for  the  return  to  Amer- 
ica. He  wrote  to  Mr.  Parker,  a  friend, 
during  September,  1806: 


My  dear  Parker, 

On  the  29th  I  sail  for  New  York.  Some 
time  ago  I  begged  of  you  to  purchase  any  kind 
of  American  funds  with  the  1927£  in  your 
hands,  and  to  forward  them  to  Gen'l  Mason  to 
be  transferred  into  my  name.  You  will  have 
the  goodness  to  do  this  as  soon  as  possible,  as 
I  and  my  friend  [Barlow]  will  need  all  our 
means  to  settle  down  comfortable.  Believe  me, 
my  dear  friend,  how  sincerely  I  love  and  esteem 
you  and  how  much  it  would  add  to  the  pleasure 

166 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

of  our  Athenian   Garden   in  America,  to  have 
you  living  on  the  margin  of  it. 

Truly 

R.  F. 

Fulton's  perplexities  with  the  British 
ministry,  great  as  they  proved,  were  not 
the  only  affairs  which  engrossed  his  mind 
and  delayed  his  return  to  America.  Evi- 
dence is  given  in  a  letter  from  Joel  Bar- 
low, who  has  been  termed  "an  adopted 
father"  in  devotion  to  Fulton,  that  Fulton 
then  contemplated  marriage  with  an  Eng- 
lish widow  of  large  fortune.  The  letter, 
intimate  and  confidential,  is  a  perfect  ex- 
ample on  Barlow's  part  of  loyal  friend- 
ship and  affectionate  counsel.  It  has  never 
before  been  published,  and  extracts  which 
seem  to  be  of  public  interest  are  here 
given : 

167 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Washington  3,  March  1806. 
My  very  dear  and  excellent  friend 

I  write  3'ou  with  a  heavy  heart.  Your  letter 
of  the  12th  January  came  upon  us  hke  a  ship- 
wreck. We  sec  in  it  at  least  the  wreck  of  our 
most  brilliant  projects  of  domestic  happiness, 
if  not  of  public  usefulness.  .  .  .  We  can  say 
nothing  to  your  proposal  except  that  you  ought 
by  all  means  to  pursue  your  own  ideas  of  your 
own  happiness,  well  weighed  and  well  consid- 
ered. On  this  last  clause  I  must  offer  a  word, 
tho'  it  may  probably  come  too  late  to  be  of  any 
use,  if  indeed  advice  in  such  cases  can  in  its 
nature,  be  of  use.  My  friendship  is  unlimited 
and  unabated,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt 
of  the  variety  of  excellence  you  find  in  the  per- 
son you  describe.  But  her  education,  habits, 
feelings,  character  and  cast  of  mind  are  Eng- 
lish and  London.  And  what  is  perhaps  more 
unfortunate  for  you,  she  has  a  fortune.  These 
things  render  it  extremely  improbable  that  she 
can  be  happy  in  this  country.  I  should  think 
it  equally  impossible  that  you  can  be  very 
happy  in  that  country.  Your  mind  is  Amer- 
ican,   your    services    arc    wanted    here.     Your 

168 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

patriotism,  your  philanthropy,  your  ideas  of 
public  improvement,  your  wishes  to  be  a  com- 
fort to  me  and  my  wife  in  our  declining  years 
(if  we  should  unluckily  have  many  of  them) 
would  tend  to  make  you  uneasy  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  the  theatre  of  so  much  good.   .   .   . 

Oh,  my  estimable  friend,  my  younger  self,  my 
expansion  and  prolongation  of  existence !  You 
cannot  conceive  the  pain  it  gives  me  to  com- 
municate these  ideas.  I  was  contemplating  the 
pleasure  I  should  have,  among  the  other  things, 
in  getting  forward  and  finishing  the  fine  Scien- 
tific Poem  of  the  Canal,  of  which  you  were  to 
write  the  Geological  and  I  the  historical  and 
mythological  notes, — of  which  you  were  to  fur- 
nish the  philosophy  and  I  the  poetry, — you  the 
ideas,  and  I  the  versification, — all  of  which  we 
could  only  do  together.  Is  the  mighty  fabric 
vanished?  It  seems  forever  gone.  You  have 
a  more  substantial  happiness  in  view,  at  least, 
you  think  so,  and  who  shall  say  the  contrary. 
I  cannot  in  friendship  and  conscience,  advise 
you  to  give  it  up. 

As  to  fortune ;  I  would  rather  take  you  with 
only  what  you  now  have,  than  with  the  largest 
in  the  world.     Great  expenses  are  great  vexa- 

10  169 


ROBERT  FULTON 

tions.  My  taste  is  so  decided  for  simplicity 
and  moderation,  that  it  would  spoil  me,  what- 
ever it  did  you,  to  be  the  slave  of  a  splendid 
income.  I  hope  the  Fox  Administration  [then 
in  consideration  of  Fulton's  Torpedo  Project] 
will  settle  with  you  liberally  and  let  you  off. 
And  in  your  case,  I  would  not  demand  a  great 
sum,  neither  would  I  have  it  by  way  of  annuity. 
But  this  affair  must  depend  on  your  taste,  and 
is  perhaps  an  improper  subject  of  advice. 

My  heart  is  so  full  of  these  subjects  that  I 
cannot  write  upon  any  other  by  this  occasion 
which  is  probably  by  the  April  packet  from 
New  York. 

Adieu,  my  excellent  friend. 

[JoEi.  Barlow.]^ 

It  is  not  known  how  far  the  attachment 
had  progressed.  We  only  know  that  Ful- 
ton, unmarried,  returned  to  America  six 
months  later  and  immediately  engaged  in 
great  activity  toward  the  development  of 
his  two  inventions. 

^  Letter  in  possession  of  Judjfc  Peter  T.  Barlow. 

170 


JOIil,  BARLOW 

Kxccutcd  at  the  same  time  as  the  portrait  o(  I-iilton.     Owiiuil  by  liidyc  I'cler  T.  Barlow. 

I'rom  the  pencil  drawing  by  Juhii  \'aiidcrlyii 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

In  September,  1806,  Fulton  had  writ- 
ten to  Mr.  Barlow,  who  was  then  enjoy- 
ing the  delights  of  his  new  country-place 
"Kalorama,"  near  Washington,  to  which 
Fulton  had  previously  alluded  as  "the 
Athenian  Garden  in  America": 

My  arbitration  [with  the  British  ministry] 
is  finished,  and  I  have  been  allowed  the  £10,000 
which  I  had  received,  with  £5000  salary,  total 
£15,000,  though  £1600  which  I  have  received 
on  settling  accounts  will  just  square  all  old 
debts  and  expenses  in  London  and  leave  me 
about  £200.  My  situation  now  is,  my  hands 
are  free  to  burn,  sink,  and  destroy  whom  I 
please,  and  I  shall  now  seriously  set  about  giv- 
ing liberty  to  the  seas  by  publishing  my  system 
of  attack.  I  have,  or  will  have,  when  Mr. 
Parker  sends  my  two  thousand  pounds,  500 
sterling  a  year,  with  a  steam  engine  and  pic- 
tures worth  two  thousand  pounds.  Therefore 
I  am  not  in  a  state  to  be  pitied.  I  am  now  busy 
winding  up  everything  and  will  leave  London 
about  the  23rd  inst.  for  Falmouth,  from  whence 

171 


ROBERT  FULTON 

I  shall  sail  in  the  packet  the  first  week  in  Octo- 
ber, and  be  with  you,  I  hope,  in  November,  per- 
haps about  the  14th,  my  birthday,  so  you  must 
have  a  roast  goose  ready.  Do  not  write  me 
again  after  receiving  this.  The  packet,  being 
well  manned  and  provided,  will  be  more  commo- 
dious and  safe  for  an  autumn  passage,  and  I 
think  that  there  will  be  little  or  no  risk,  yet 
accidents  may  happen,  and  that  the  produce  of 
my  studies  and  experience  may  not  be  lost  to 
my  country,  I  have  made  out  a  complete  set  of 
drawings  and  descriptions  of  my  whole  system 
of  submarine  attack,  and  another  set  of  draw- 
ings with  description  of  the  steamboat.  These, 
with  my  will,  I  shall  put  in  a  tin  cylinder, 
sealed,  and  leave  them  in  the  care  of  General 
L^'man,  not  to  be  opened  unless  I  am  lost. 
Should  such  an  event  happen,  I  have  left  you 
the  means  to  publish  these  works,  with  engrav- 
ings, in  a  handsome  manner,  and  to  which  you 
will  add  your  own  ideas  —  showing  how  the 
liberty  of  the  seas  may  be  gained  by  such 
means,  and,  with  such  liberty,  the  immense  ad- 
vantages to  America  and  civilization :  you  will 
also  show  the  necessity  of  perfecting  and  estab- 
lishing the  steamboat  and  canals  on  the  inclined 

172 


1 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

plane  principle,  I  have  sent,  j'ou  three  hundred 
complete  sets  of  prints  for  the  "Columbiad" 
by  the  Orb,  directed  to  Mr.  Tolman,  New  York, 
value  £30.  As  the  transport  by  land  to  Phila- 
delphia will  not  be  much,  I  have  sent  them  by 
this  opportunity,  that  they  may  arrive  before 
the  law  for  prohibiting  such  things  is  in  force, 
and  that  the  shipment  and  risk  may  not  ap- 
proach too  near  to  winter.  All  my  pictures, 
prints,  and  other  things  I  mean  to  leave  here, 
to  be  shipped  in  spring  vessels,  about  April 
next,  when  the  risk  will  be  inconsiderable.  How 
shall  we  manage  this  winter,  as  you  must  be  in 
Philadelphia  for  the  printing,  and  I  want  to  be 
at  New  York  to  build  my  boat.^*  I  am  in  excel- 
lent health,  never  better,  and  good  spirits. 
You  know  I  cannot  exist  without  a  project  or 
projects,  and  I  have  two  or  three  of  the  first 
order  of  sublimity.  As  all  your  prints  are 
soldered  up  I  do  not  see  how  I  can  leave  the 
number  you  desire  with  Phillips,  [the  London 
publisher]  but  as  I  leave  the  plates  with  Mr. 
West  the  necessary  number  can  be  struck  off 
when  the  sheets  arrive.  We  will  talk  of  this 
in  America.  Mr.  West  has  been  retouching  my 
pictures :  they  are  charming. 

173 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Fulton,  upon  his  arrival  in  America, 
speedily  joined  Barlow  in  Kalorama,  this 
delightful  retreat  which  was  termed  the 
"Holland  House  of  America";  Charles 
Burr  Todd,  Barlow's  biographer,  states 
that  "Fulton  lent  his  genius  to  the  task  of 
embellishing  the  house  and  grounds,  there 
being  in  one  of  his  letters  of  the  period  a 
drawing  for  a  summer-house  which  he  in- 
tends 'for  the  grounds  of  our  mansion,'  " 
as  he  called  it.  It  is  said  that  Fulton  con- 
structed a  model  of  the  Clermont  at  Kalo- 
rama and  tested  its  powers  on  the  waters 
of  Rock  Creek.  Be  that  as  it  may,  we 
know  that  he  contrived  to  gain  inspiration 
from  the  bonds  of  closest  affection  with 
Barlow,  who  was  a  man  of  rare  liberality 
of  mind. 

Fulton's  characteristic  optimism  was 
again  speedily  illustrated.  With  a  sublime 
disregard  for  the  fact  that  his  torpedo 
174 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

project  had  been  dismissed  by  two  impor- 
tant governments,  France  and  England, 
he  iramediately  offered  to  America  his 
plan  for  this  destructive  machine,  designed 
to  provide  a  weapon  sufficiently  strong,  in 
the  hands  of  a  righteous  nation,  to  main- 
tain universal  peace. 

His  offer  was  favorably  considered  by 
President  Jefferson,  and  in  the  presence 
of  Naval  experts,  Fulton  publicly  demon- 
strated its  power  by  blowing  up  a  brig  in 
the  harbor  of  New  York,  July  20,  1807, 
less  than  a  month  before  the  successful 
voyage  of  the  Clermont.  Subsequently 
(1814)  Fulton  was  authorized  by  Con- 
gress to  build  the  first  steam  war  vessel  of 
the  world,  the  Demologus,  also  known  as 
Fulton  the  First. 

Truly  could  Robert  Fulton  say  that  he 
had  "two  or  three  projects  of  the  first 
order  of  sublimity."  His  area  of  useful- 
175 


ROBERT  FULTON 

ness  was  as  wide  as  the  world;  his  theory 
of  peace  included  all  nations;  and  with 
true  American  spirit  he  illustrated,— by 
his  advocacy  and  improvement  of  Canal 
Navigation,  and  by  his  inventions  of  the 
Submarine  Torpedo  and  the  Steamboat, — 
his  great  original  motto,  "The  Liberty  of 
the  Seas  will  be  the  Happiness  of  the 
Earth." 


176 


PART  IV 
THE  "CLERMONT' 


AN  adequate  recital  of  Robert  Fulton's 
-^x.  achievements  has  never  been  written, 
nor  can  it  be  until  some  fellow-craftsman, 
having  access  to  Fulton's  papers,  sets 
forth  the  technical  progress  of  his  inven- 
tive power,  which  successively  produced  a 
machine  for  cutting  marble,  a  machine  for 
spinning  flax,  the  double  inclined  plane 
for  canal  navigation,  a  machine  for  twist- 
ing rope,  an  earth-scoop  for  canal  and  ir- 
rigation purposes,  a  cable-cutter,  the  first 
French  panorama,  the  submarine  torpedo 
boat,  and  several  minor  canal  improve- 
ments,— all  predecessors  of  his  greatest 
invention,  the  steamboat. 

When  to  this  creditable  list  is  added  a 
179 


ROBERT  FULTON 

record  of  his  numerous  paintings^  and 
miniatures,  and  his  far-sighted  writings, 
"A  Treatise  on  Canal  Navigation,"  "Tor- 
pedo Warfare,"  his  "Essay  to  the  Friends 
of  Mankind,"  and  his  "Submarine  Navi- 
gation," and  another  essay  entitled 
"Thoughts  on  Free  Trade,"  a  cause  for 
which  he  was  an  ardent  advocate,  and 
when  it  is  remembered  that  he  died  at  the 
age  of  fifty,  there  comes  a  sense  of  wonder 
that  so  short  a  working  span  could  yield 
products  so  manj-^  and  so  diverse. 

Washington  Irving,  in  the  zenith  of  his 
fame,  was  asked  by  members  of  Fulton's 
family  to  write  a  biography  of  the  in- 
ventor. After  a  tentative  endeavor  Mr. 
Irving  gave  up  the  undertaking.  In  1878 
a  subsequent  biographer,  J.  F.  Reigart, 
in  a  hitherto  unjiublished  letter  to  Fulton's 
grandson,  the  late  Robert  Fulton  Blight, 

^  See  Appendix,  pages  354-356. 

180 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

recorded  Irving  as  having  said  that  "Ful- 
ton's works  were  ah'eady  immortal  monu- 
ments upon  the  waters  of  the  globe,  and 
ornamented  every  city  and  public  road 
of  the  land.  He  could  not  possibly  pro- 
cure correct  drawings  or  illustrations  of 
Fulton's  mechanical  inventions,  and  if  he 
did,  he  had  not  the  ability  to  specify  or 
describe  them;  and  to  write  a  grand 
eulogy  or  literary  essay  would  not  be  a 
correct  biography  of  the  greatest  of  in- 
ventors." 

A  similar  deterrent  prevented  his 
daughter  from  accomplishing  a  like  desire. 
Cadwallader  Colden,  who  wrote  a  life  of 
Fulton,  stated  that  the  inventor  had  in- 
tended to.  write  an  autobiography  but  was 
too  occupied  with  scientific  work.  It  has 
remained,  therefore,  at  the  close  of  a 
century,  for  his  great-granddaughter,  al- 
though less  qualified  than  her  predeces- 
181 


ROBERT  FULTON 

sors,  to  take  up  the  delayed  work  of 
transcribing  his  family  papers  and  to  ful- 
fil Barlow's  prophecy  made  in  1800  that 
he  "would  take  care  that  it  [Fulton's 
patience]  shall  not  be  forgotten  by  the 
writer  of  your  life,  who  I  hope  is  not  born 
yet." 

Upon  his  arrival  in  America  from  Eng- 
land in  December,  180G,  after  a  voyage  of 
two  months  from  Falmouth,  Fulton  im- 
mediately devoted  himself  to  his  several 
projects.  The  winter  was  passed  in  the 
construction  of  the  American  boat,  which 
he  called  the  Clermont  in  gracious  recog- 
nition of  the  hospitality  which  he  had 
enjoyed  at  Chancellor  Livingston's  coun- 
try-place of  that  name  on  the  Hudson. 
He  engaged  Charles  Brownne,  a  ship- 
builder of  note,  whose  yards  were  at 
Corlear's  Hook  on  tlie  East  River,  to  con- 
struct the  hull.  Already  Fulton  had  ex- 
182 


Cn.WCI  I.T.OR    ROBERT   R.  LIVINGSTON 

From  tlie  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  dated  i795-     Owned  by  John  H.  Livingston,  "  Clermont," 
Tivoli.  New  York 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

pended  a  considerable  sum  of  money 
upon  the  project,  for  we  find  in  his  note- 
book^ the  following  items: 

February  5,  1804 

Travelling  from  London  to 
Birmingham  and  back  again  to 
order  the  steam  engine  .      .     .  £8  —  0  —  0 

Jan.  21,  1805 

To  Messrs.  Boulton  Watt  & 
Co.  for  cylinder  and  parts  of 
the  engine £548-0-0 

March  18,  1805 

To  Messrs.  Cave  &  Son,  for 
Copper  Boiler  weighing  4,399 
lbs  at  2s.  2d.  the  lb.       ...  £476  -  11  -  2 

March,  1805 

Fee  at  the  Treasury  on  receiv- 
ing permission  to  ship  the  En- 
gine for  America       .      .      .      .        £2  —  14  —  6 

^  In  possession  of  Robert  Fulton  Ludlow. 

185 


ROBERT  FULTON 

The  entry  relative  to  the  copper  for  the 
boiler  refutes  the  legend,  once  current, 
that  the  boiler  of  the  Clermont  was  made 
from  copper  pennies  melted  down.  Early- 
coins  were  worth  their  face  value  as  metal, 
and  collectors  suppose  that  the  rarity  of 
certain  issues  of  currency  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  easiest  and  least  costly  way  to 
procure  copper,  when  the  metal  was 
needed  for  useful  devices,  was  to  melt 
coins.  The  story  apparently  arose  from 
the  extreme  rarity  of  copper  cents  of  the 
coinages  of  1799-1804. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  the  engine, 
after  its  arrival  from  Birmingham,  lay  for 
six  months  in  charge  of  the  New  York 
Custom  House  before  Fulton  could  raise 
the  money  to  pay  the  duties,  but  the  cause 
of  delay  may  have  arisen  from  the  fact 
that  the  boat  was  not  ready  to  receive  the 
machinery.  Finally  it  was  stored  at  a 
180 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Mr.  Barker's  warehouse,  for  we  find  an 
entry  in  Fulton's  account  book,  on  April 
23,  1807,  of  £5  "to  the  carriage  of  the  en- 
gine from  Mr.  Barker's  to  the  Boat."  It 
is  not  known  at  what  date  the  engine  ar- 
rived in  America,  but  it  was  in  Mr.  Bar- 
ker's warehouse  on  South  Street  for  several 
months  prior  to  its  erection  in  the  boat. 
From  the  grandchildren  of  Mr.  Barker's 
daughter,  Mrs.  Hunt  of  New  Orleans,  it 
is  learned  that  Fulton  invited  Mr.  Barker 
to  accompany  him  on  the  first  trip  of  the 
Clermont,  and  that  Mr.  Barker  not  only 
enjoyed  the  novel  sensation  but  secured 
permission  to  take  with  him  his  little 
daughter  Sarah,  who  ever  after  remem- 
bered her  delight  over  the  strange  adven- 
ture. It  is  said  that  she  was  so  tiny  that 
she  sat  upon  a  plank  stretched  across  the 
stern  of  the  boat. 

11  187 


ROBERT  FULTON 

"fulton's  folly" 

Prior  to  the  completion  of  the  Clermont, 
a  throng  of  idle-minded  men  congregated 
in  the  vicinity,  called  it  "Fulton's  Folly" 
and  scoffed  at  its  possibilities.  The  actual 
safety  of  the  invention  was  seriously 
menaced  by  this  lawless  throng  and  by  the 
careless  piloting  of  sloops  in  the  slip. 
After  one  threatened  mishap,  Fulton 
found  it  necessary  to  guard  the  boat.  On 
June  7,  he  paid  "$4.00  to  the  men  for 
guarding  the  boat  two  nights  and  a  day 
after  the  vessel  ran  against  her,"  and  six 
days  later  "$20.00  Pay  to  the  men  who 
guard  the  boat." 

These  are  some  of  the  other  disburse- 
ments copied  from  the  inventor's  note- 
book: 

April  23,  1807,  To  John  Cunningham, 
for  planks  for  fly  and 
wheel  spokes     .     .     .  $23.43 

188 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

May  the  7,  To  Mr.  Jackson  for  sheet 

iron  for  the  chimney     .      .  $26.25 

May  15,  To  Mr.  Brownne     ....  400.00 

June     3,  To    Mr.    Maxwell,    for   work 

done  to  Boiler 200.00 

June     8,  To  a  wooden  pump,  Thomas 

Smith 7.71 

June  16,  To  plank  for  the  bottom  of 

the  boat 15.00 

June  18,  To  Mr.  Martin,  Brass  Founder     50.00 

Pair  of  Sweeps 4.00 

To    Peter    Coruth,    for    iron 
braces  for  the  boiler     .      .      .      22.00 

June     8,  Chaldron  of  Coal     ....   100.00 

June  26,  To  Mr.   Brownne,  for  work- 
men's wages 30.00 

Aug.      1,  To  a  stone  float  in  the  boiler        1.75 

Aug.   10,  Mr.  Cunningham,  for  hickory 

plank 8.38 

James   Trie,   final   settlement      10,00 

Other  interesting  expenditures  for  the 
fittings  of  the  Clermont  follow : 

Aug.   10,  To   a   North  River  man   for 

the  loan   of  an   anchor     .      .        2.00 
Iron  monger's  bill  ....      10.60 

189 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Dishes  and  plates     ....  $4;. 00 

Aug.  12,  Water   Casks 3.00 

Aug.   15,  Wine,  sugar,  brandy    .      .      .  3.00 

Mr.  Johnson,  the  Mason   .      .  40.00 
Mr.     Brownne,     (the     Ship 

Builder) 50.00 


FINANCIAL  DIFFICULTIES 

Only  a  few  weeks  before  the  completion 
of  the  boat  the  funds  provided  by  Living- 
ston and  Fulton  threatened  to  become 
exhausted  and  they  invited  a  third  party 
to  join  the  enterprise  but  no  one  was 
found  who  was  sufficiently  convinced  of 
the  utility  of  the  plan,  and  they  remained 
alone  in  the  proprietorship.  Fulton  has 
left  a  record  of  a  previous  attempt  to  ob- 
tain cooperation.  He  says:  "In  1806 
Messrs.  Livingston  and  Fulton  offered  to 
take  Mr.  Stevens  in  as  a  partner.  He  re- 
fused, asserting  that  Mr.  Fulton's  plan 
190 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

could  not  succeed."  This  was  Mr.  John 
Stevens,  brother-in-law  of  Chancellor 
Livingston,  who  afterward  built  the  Phe- 
nix^  a  steamboat  for  the  Delaware  River. 

At  a  special  crisis  when  $1000  was  im- 
peratively needed  Fulton  spent  an  eve- 
ning in  a  vain  attempt  to  convince  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  practicability  of  his 
invention.  The  next  morning  he  repeated 
his  persuasions  and  the  friend  agreed  to 
advance  one  hundred  dollars  with  the 
proviso  that  Fulton  should  induce  others 
of  his  friends  to  subscribe  the  remaining 
nine  hundred.  After  great  difficulty 
the  inventor  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 
amount  but  only  on  the  promise  that  the 
names  of  the  subscribers  should  be  kept 
secret,  as  they  feared  that  their  folly 
would  become  a  matter  of  public  ridi- 
cule. 

Fulton's  own  description  of  the  Cler- 
191 


ROBERT  FULTON 

mont  is  contained  in  a  paper  in  possession 
of  one  of  his  heirs : 


FXJLTON  S  OWN  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 
CLERMONT 

"]My  first  steamboat  on  the  Hudson's 
River  was  150  feet  long,  13  feet  wide, 
drawing  2  ft.  of  water,  bow  and  stern  60 
degrees:  she  displaced  36.40  cubic  feet, 
equal  100  tons  of  water;  her  bow  pre- 
sented 26  ft.  to  the  water,  plus  and  minus 
the  resistance  of  1  ft.  running  4  miles  an 
hour." ' 

^  In  the  "Nautical  Gazette"  the  editor,  Mr.  Samuel 
Ward  Stanton,  gives  the  following  additional  details  : 

* '  The  bottom  of  the  boat  was  formed  of  jellow  pine  plank 
1.5  in.  thick,  toiigucd  and  g'rooved,  and  set  together  with 
white  lead.  This  bottom  or  platform  was  laid  in  a  trans- 
verse platform  and  molded  out  with  batten  and  nails.  The 
shape  of  the  bottom  being  thus  formed,  the  floors  of  oak 
and  spruce  were  placed  across  the  bottom  ;  the  spruce  floors 
being  4x8  inches  and  2  feet  apart.  The  oak  floors  were 
reserved  for  the  ends,  and  were  both  sided  and  molded 
8  inches.     Her  top  timbers  (which  were  of  spruce  and  ex- 

192 


$  ^  ^     ^  ^  ^  I  ft  v^    i 


hi    I^H^ 


-; 


'\imlx    i 


.^^ 


+ 


I 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Fulton  did  not  take  out  a  patent  for  his 
steamboat  until  February,  1809,  and  his 
second  patent  was  secured  October  2, 
1810/ 

COMMERCIAL  SUCCESS  OF  THE  CLERMONT 

The  commercial  success  which  the  Cler- 
mont attained  led,  within  a  few  months,  to 
the  necessity  of  its  enlargement  and  devel- 
opment, and  this  reconstruction  obscured 
the  knowledge  of  the  initial  plans  for  the 
first  American  boat,  which  until  recently 
have  been  considered  lost.  A  highly 
important  discovery  of  four  folios  of  Ful- 
ton's original  drawings,  at  the  New  Jer- 
sey Historical  Society,  presented  about 
thirty   years   ago   by   the   late    Solomon 

tended  from  a  log  that  formed  the  bridge  to  the  deck)  were 
sided  6  inches  and  molded  at  heel,  and  both  sided  and 
molded  4  inches  at  the  head.  She  had  no  guards  when 
first  built  and  was  steered  by  a  tiller.  Her  draft  of  water 
was  28  inches." 

^See  Appendix,  pages  338,  339. 

195 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Alossen,  a  Hollander,  who  had  a  fondness 
for  collecting  historical  data,  has  brought 
to  light  two  of  Fulton's  original  drawings 
of  1806,  and  his  plans  which  shortly  fol- 
lowed, which  are  here  reproduced  for  the 
first  time  by  permission  of  the  New  Jer- 
sey Historical  Society. 

The  six  plans  here  published  have  been 
submitted  to  Mr.  Frank  E.  Kirby,  the 
well-known  naval  architect,  who  drew  the 
plans  for  the  Hudson-Fulton  Commis- 
sion's facsimile  of  the  Clermont,  and  also 
designed  the  Hendrick  Hudson,  and 
many  other  large  vessels.  Mr.  Kirby  has 
identified  these  plans  and  given  them  the 
titles  used  herewith.  He  says:  "The  dis- 
covery of  these  plans  of  Robert  Fulton's 
is  the  most  important  addition  to  the 
authentic  history  of  early  steam  naviga- 
tion." 

Upon    Sunday,    the    9th    of    August, 
196 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

1807,  Fulton  primarily  tested  the  capa- 
bilities of  his  new  boat  upon  the  East 
River, — a  fact  not  generally  known.  He 
wrote  an  account  of  this  experimental 
trip  in  a  letter  to  the  Chancellor;  the  fol- 
lowing important  extracts  are  quoted 
from  "The  Livingstons  of  Callendar," 
privately  printed  by  Clermont  and  E. 
Brockholst  Livingston: 

"Yesterday  about  12  o'clock  I  put  the 
steamboat  in  motion  first  with  a  paddle  8 
inches  broad  3  feet  long,  with  which  I  ran 
about  one  mile  up  the  East  River  against 
a  tide  of  about  one  mile  an  hour,  it  being 
nearly  high  water.  I  then  anchored  and 
put  on  another  paddle  8  inches  wide  3  feet 
long,  started  again  and  then,  according 
to  my  best  observations,  I  went  3  miles  an 
hour,  that  is  two  against  a  tide  of  one: 
another  board  of  8  inches  was  wanting, 
which  had  not  been  prepared,  I  therefore 
197 


ROBERT  FULTON 

turned  the  boat  and  ran  down  with  the 
tide — and  turned  her  round  neatly  into 
the  berth  from  which  I  parted.  She  an- 
swers the  helm  equal  to  any  thing  that 
ever  was  built,  and  I  turned  her  twice 
in  three  times  her  own  length.  Much 
has  been  proved  by  this  experiment. 
First  that  she  will,  when  in  complete  or- 
der, run  up  to  my  full  calculations.  Sec- 
ond, that  my  axles,  I  believe,  will  be 
sufficiently  strong  to  run  the  engine  to  her 
full  power.  Third,  that  she  steers  well, 
and  can  be  turned  with  ease."  And  he 
jubilantly  continues,  after  giving  some 
further  particulars  concerning  the  work- 
ing of  the  engine,  and  some  contemplated 
alterations  to  the  paddles,  "yesterday  I 
beat  all  the  sloops  that  were  endeavoring 
to  stem  tide  with  the  slight  breeze  which 
they  had;  had  I  hoisted  my  sails  I  conse- 
quently should  have  had  all  their  means 
added  to  my  own.  Whatever  may  be  the 
198 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

fate  of  steamboats  for  the  Hudson,  every- 
thing is  completely  proved  for  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  the  object  is  immense."  In 
this  letter  he  also  mentions  that  he  expects 
his  contemplated  "corrections,  with  the 
finishing  of  the  cabins,  will  take  me  the 
whole  week,  and  I  shall  start  on  Monday 
next  at  4  miles  an  hour."^ 

There  is  an  interesting  chronological 
coincidence  in  the  hitherto  unnoted  fact 
that  Fulton  had  first  tested  his  trial  boat 
upon  the  Seine  on  the  ninth  day  of  Au- 
gust, 1803,  exactly  four  years  previous  to 
his  preliminary  test  of  the  Clermont  upon 
the  East  River  on  the  ninth  day  of 
August,  1807.  It  is  to  be  wondered 
whether  Fulton  consciously  kept  this  anni- 
versary, or  did  history,  with  its  strange 
accuracy,  again  repeat  itself  ? 

1  The  above  letter,  Robert  Fulton  to  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
isdated  New  York,  Monday  the  lOthof  August,  1807.  Origi- 
nal letter  in  the  possession  of  Clermont  Livingston,  Esq. 
This  letter  bears  the  New  York  postmark  of  same  date. 

201 


ROBERT  FULTON 

HISTORIC  FIRST  VOYAGE  OF  THE 
CLERMONT 

On  August  17,  1807,  the  Clermont  made 
its  memorable  first  voyage  up  the  Hud- 
son. At  one  o'clock  the  boat  was  loosed 
from  its  moorings  at  a  dock  on  the 
North  River  near  the  State's  Prison, 
Greenwich  Village. 

Fulton's  feelings  at  this  crisis  are  set 
down  in  a  letter  to  an  unknown  friend, 
quoted  as  part  of  a  reminiscence  by  the 
lat6  .Judge  Story  in  Sanders'  early  "  His- 
tory of  Schenectady,"  and  secured  by 
Mrs.  Robert  Fulton  Blight  from  alleged 
original. 

My  dear  sir: 

The  moincnt  arrived  in  whicli  the  word  was  to 
be  given  for  the  boat  to  move.  My  friends 
were  in  groups  on  the  deck.  There  was  anxiety 
mixed  witli  fear  among  them.  They  were 
silent,  sad  and  weary.  I  read  in  their  looks 
202 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

nothing  but  disaster,  and  almost  repented  of 
my  efforts.  The  signal  was  given  and  the  boat 
moved  on  a  short  distance  and  then  stopped  and 
became  immovable.  To  the  silence  of  the  pre- 
ceding moment,  now  succeeded  murmurs  of 
discontent,  and  agitations,  and  whispers  and 
shrugs.  I  could  hear  distinctly  repeated — "I 
told  you  it  was  so ;  it  is  a  foolish  scheme :  I 
wish  we  were  well  out  of  it." 

I  elevated  myself  upon  a  platform  and  ad- 
dressed the  assembly.  I  stated  that  I  knew  not 
what  was  the  matter,  but  if  they  would  be  quiet 
and  indulge  me  for  half  an  hour,  I  would  either 
go  on  or  abandon  the  voyage  for  that  time. 
This  short  respite  was  conceded  without  objec- 
tion. I  went  below  and  examined  the  ma- 
chinery, and  discovered  that  the  cause  was  a 
slight  maladjustment  of  some  of  the  work.  In 
a  short  time  it  was  obviated.  The  boat  was 
again  put  in  motion.  She  continued  to  move 
on.  All  were  still  incredulous.  None  seemed 
willing  to  trust  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses. 
We  left  the  fair  city  of  New  York;  we  passed 
through  the  romantic  and  ever-varying  scenery 
of  the  Highlands ;  we  descried  the  clustering 
houses  of  Albany;  we  reached  its  shores,  —  and 

203 


ROBERT  FULTON 

then,  even  tlien,  when  all  seemed  achieved,  I  was 
the  victim  of  disappointment. 

Imagination  superseded  the  influence  of  fact. 
It  was  then  doubted  if  it  could  be  done  again, 
or  if  done,  it  was  doubted  if  it  could  be  made 
of  any  great  value.  Yours, 

R.  Fulton. 

The  Clermont  was  an  odd  craft.  The 
machinery,  placed  in  the  center,  was  ex- 
posed to  view  and  creaked  ominously.  Only 
the  bow  and  stern  were  covered  to  form 
the  cabins.  The  unprotected  paddle-wheels 
swung  ponderously  at  each  side  and 
splashed  the  water  as  they  revolved. 
There  were  two  masts,  but  no  bowsprit, 
as  sometimes  pictured.  The  compass  was 
rather  rude  but  answered  the  purpose 
well,  though  the  man  at  the  tiller  in  the 
stern  had  difficulty  in  defining  the  course. 

After  the  first  voyage  Fulton  recog- 
nized the  misplacement  of  the  tiller  and 
204 


^J^' 


at 


I-ULTON'S   IMKSTAND 
In  possession  of  Alice  Crary  Sutcliffe 


COMPASS    rsi-.l)    i)Y    HII.iiT    ACKIK    1 1\    THl'.    i  I  IKMO.WT 
Ju  possessiiin  of  Mr.  Rc^hen  1-ultoii  Ludlow 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

proposed  an  adjustment  of  guiding  ropes 
from  each  side  of  the  tiller  to  a  forward 
wheel  near  the  mainmast,  and  this  altera- 
tion was  made  before  the  vessel  passed 
into  commercial  service.  There  was  no 
steam  whistle,  and  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
boat  at  a  wharf  a  horn  was  blown,  and 
some  of  the  crew  set  to  work  to  carry 
enough  wood  on  board  to  supply  fuel  to 
last  until  the  next  landing. 

Like  the  vessel  itself  the  impression  it 
made  was  unique.  It  was  described  as  an 
"ungainly  craft  looking  precisely  like  a 
backwoods  saw-mill  mounted  on  a  scow 
and  set  on  fire."  It  is  easy  to  fancy  the 
astonishment  and  alarm  of  the  crews  of 
the  ordinary  sailing  boats  of  the  river  and 
of  the  dwellers  in  the  towns  along  the 
shores.  Some  of  the  sailors,  it  is  asserted, 
when  they  saw  "this  queer-looking  sail- 
less  thing"  gaining  upon  them  in  spite  of 
207 


ROBERT  FULTON 

contrary  wind  and  tide,  actually  aban- 
doned their  vessels  and  took  to  the  woods 
in  fright. 

Others  who  saw  the  boat  in  the  night 
described  her  as  a  "monster  moving  on  the 
waters  defying  the  winds  and  tide,  and 
breathing  flames  and  smoke."  Some 
prostrated  themselves  and  prayed  a  kind 
Providence  for  protection  from  the  ap- 
proaches of  the  monster,  which  was  march- 
ing on  the  waters  and  lighting  its  path- 
way with  fire. 

It  is  easy  in  this  day  of  full  understand- 
ing to  find  amusement  in  their  overwhelm- 
ing consternation,  but  the  appearance  of 
the  boat  must-  indeed  have  been  terrific. 
The  fuel  used  was  pine  wood,  and  when 
the  fire  was  stirred  by  the  engineer  a 
galaxy  of  sparks  ascended.  No  wonder 
that  the  quiet  dwellers  in  the  valley  were 
frightened  by  the  novel  sight. 
208 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Miss  Helen  Livingston,  daughter  of 
Gilbert  R.  Livingston,  who  with  her  sister 
Kate  had  been  visiting  "Liberty  Hall"  at 
Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  the  home  of 
their  cousin  William  Livingston,  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  had  written  at  the  con- 
clusion of  her  visit : 

"My  dear  mother  will  be  glad  to  know 
that  we  are  soon  to  return  home.  Cousin 
Chancellor  has  a  wonderful  new  boat 
which  is  to  make  the  voyage  up  the  Hud- 
son some  day  soon.  It  will  hold  a  good 
many  passengers  and  he  has,  with  his 
usual  kindness,  invited  us  to  be  of  the 
party.  He  says  it  will  be  something  to 
remember  all  our  lives.  He  says  we  need 
not  trouble  ourselves  about  provisions,  as 
his  men  will  see  to  all  that.  In  the  mean 
time  we  are  enjoying  ourselves  very  much; 
everybody  is  so  kind  and  cordial." 

Her  recollections  of  the  voyage  were 

^2  209 


ROBERT  FULTON 

personally  narrated  to  her  granddaugh- 
ter, Helen  Evertson  Smith,  who  included 
them  in  an  interesting  article  published  in 
"The  Century"  for  December,  1896.  The 
guests  of  the  occasion,  who  numbered 
about  forty,  included  but  few  ladies. 
Among  these  were  the  two  young  sisters, 
Helen  and  Kate  Livingston;  their  aunt, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Morris,  daughter-in-law  of 
Robert  INIorris,  the  financier  of  the  Revo- 
lution ;  one  of  the  Chancellor's  two  daugh- 
ters; four  of  the  many  daughters  of  his 
brothers  John  R.  and  Colonel  Harry  Liv- 
ingston; and  JNIiss  Harriet  Livingston, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Walter  Livingston,  first 
custodian  of  the  United  States  Treasury. 
Other  passengers,  besides  Livingston 
and  Fulton,  were  John  R.  Livingston  and 
John  Swift  Livingston,  and  Doctor  Mit- 
chell and  Doctor  McNeven,  to  whom 
Cadwallader  Colden,  who  wrote  a  Life  of 
210 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Fulton,  acknowledges  his  description  of 
the  voyage;  the  Dean  of  Ripon  Cathedral, 
England,  who  was  en  route  to  visit  the 
Chancellor,  and  Mr.  Barker  with  his  little 
daughter. 

Helen  Livingston,  whose  girlish  letter 
of  invitation  has  been  quoted  and  who 
later  married  William  Mather  Smith,  con- 
fided to  her  granddaughter  an  intensely 
interesting  fact  which  occurred  on  the  sec- 
ond day  of  the  progress  up  the  river.  Just 
before  the  boat  was  about  to  cast  anchor 
off  Clermont,  the  Chancellor  announced 
the  betrothal  of  Robert  Fulton  to  his  young 
kinswoman,  Harriet  Livingston,  and 
made  the  prophecy  that  the  "name  of  the 
inventor  would  descend  to  posterity  as  a 
benefactor  to  the  world,"  and  that  it  was 
not  impossible  that  before  the  close  of  the 
present  century,  vessels  might  even  be  able 
to  make  the  voyage  to  Europe  without 
211 


ROBERT  FULTON 

other  motive  power  than  steam.  This 
hardy  prediction  was  received  with  but 
moderate  approval  by  any ;  while  smiles  of 
incredulity  were  exchanged  between  those 
who  were  so  placed  that  they  could  not  be 
seen  by  the  speechmaker  or  the  inventor. 
John  R.  Livingston  was  heard  to  say,  in 
an  aside  to  his  cousin  John  Swift  Living- 
ston, that  "Bob  has  had  many  a  bee  in  his 
bonnet  before  now,  but  this  steam  folly 
will  prove  the  worst  yet  !'* 

An  early  newspaper  clipping  is  author- 
ity for  the  statement  that  Fulton  had 
previously  asked  the  Chancellor,  "Is  it 
presumptuous  in  me  to  aspire  to  the  hand 
of  Miss  Harriet  Livingston?"  "By  no 
means,"  the  distinguished  Chancellor  is 
said  to  have  replied,  "her  father  may 
object  because  you  are  a  humble  and 
poor  inventor,  and  the  family  may  object 
— but  if  Harriet  does  not  object,  —  and  she 
seems  to  have  a  world  of  good  sense,— go 
212 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

ahead,  and  my  best  wishes  and  blessings 
go  with  you." 

Certainly  that  day  was  one  of  crowning 
glory  in  Fulton's  life.  He  was  now  forty- 
two  years  old,  and  a  prominent  man  upon 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  vouched  for 
by  Chancellor  Livingston,  who  recognized 
the  fine  manhood  and  superior  talents  of 
the  inventor,  and  who  had  in  France 
known  his  prestige  and  popularity  with 
Barlow  and  other  men  of  distinction.  It 
was  natural  that  Harriet  Livingston 
should  return  Fulton's  regard  by  an 
estimate  of  his  genius  amounting  to  en- 
thusiasm. A  contemporaneous  writer  de- 
scribed him  thus : 

"Among  a  thousand  individuals  you 
might  readily  point  out  Robert  Fulton. 
He  was  conspicuous  for  his  gentle,  manly 
bearing  and  freedom  from  embarrassment, 
for  his  extreme  activity,  his  height,  some- 
what over  six  feet, — his  slender  yet  ener- 
213 


ROBERT  FULTON 

getic  form  and  well  accommodated  dress, 
for  his  full  and  curly  dark  brown  hair, 
carelessly  scattered  over  his  forehead  and 
falling  around  his  neck.  His  complexion 
was  fair,  his  forehead  high,  his  eyes  dark 
and  penetrating  and  revolving  in  a  capa- 
cious orbit  of  cavernous  depths;  his  brow 
was  thick  and  evinced  strength  and  deter- 
mination; his  nose  was  long  and  promi- 
nent, his  mouth  and  lips  were  beautifully 
proportioned,  giving  the  impress  of 
eloquent  utterance.  Trifles  were  not  cal- 
culated to  impede  him  or  damp  his  per- 
severance." 

Helen  Livingston's  estimate  was  no  less 
complimentary : 

"There  were  many  distinguished  and 
fine-looking  men  on  board  the  Clermont^ 
but  my  grand-mother  always  described 
Robert  Fulton  as  surpassing  them  all. 
'That  son  of  a  Pennsylvania  farmer,'  she 
was  wont  to  say,  'was  really  a  prince 
214 


MRS.  WAl.TtR    I  n  INGSTON  (COKMI  I A  S(  III  NI.FRi,  MOTHER   ol-    MRS    ROBrRT    l-I'LTON 

Original    owned    by   Mrs.  Hermann    H.  Caniniann,  graiidclaugliter  of    Robert  Fulton      This   portrait. 

painted  by  Robert  Fulton  on  a  panel,  bears  on' the  reverse  his  nntinished  portrait 

of  his  only  son,  Barlow  Fulton.     Now  first  published. 


I 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

among  men.  He  was  as  modest  as  he  was 
great,  and  as  handsome  as  he  was  modest. 
His   eyes   were   glorious   with   love   and 

•  >    55  1 

genius. 

Fulton  himself,  the  central  figure  of  con- 
gratulation, was  happy  beyond  utterance. 

iln  1857,  Paul  A.  Sabbaton,  Fulton's  later  Chief  Engi- 
neer, wrote  to  J.  F.  Reigart,  biographer  of  Fulton : 

"I  was  so  constantly  with  Mr.  Fulton,  saw  him  at  his 
occupation,  at  his  family  fire-side,  and  in  almost  every  situ- 
ation, that  I  have  to  this  day  a  most  distinct  and  strongly 
impressed  likeness  on  my  mind. — He  had  ail  the  traits  of 
a  man  with  the  gentleness  of  a  child.  I  never  heard  him 
use  ill  words  to  any  one  of  those  employed  under  him  no 
matter  how  strong  the  provocation  might  be, — and  I  do  know 
there  was  enough  of  that  at  times  ;  and  ever  and  anon  my 
mind  recurs  to  the  times  when  his  labours  were  so  severe. 
His  habit  was,  cane  in  hand,  to  walk  up  and  down  for 
hours.  I  see  him  now  in  my  mind's  eye,  with  his  white, 
loosely-tied  cravat,  his  waistcoat  unbuttoned,  his  ruffles 
waving  from  side  to  side  as  his  movements  caused  their 
movements  ;  he,  all  the  while  in  deep  thought,  scarcely 
noticing  anything  passing  him." 

The  late  J.  B.  Calhoun  of  Brooklyn,  who  was  in  Fulton's 
employ  at  the  time  of  the  latter's  death  in  1815,  described 
Fulton  as  a  tail,  somewhat  slender  man,  of  fair,  delicate 
complexion,  of  graceful,  dignified  bearing,  and  mild  and 
gentle  in  his  temper.  He  said  :  "  His  workmen  were  al- 
ways pleased  to  see  him  about  his  shops.  With  his  rattan 
cane  in  hand,  he  always  appeared  to  me  a  counterpart  of 
an  English  nobleman." 

217 


ROBERT  FULTON 

It  was  the  supreme  moment  of  his  life. 
His  bride-elect,  Harriet  Livingston,  a 
beauty  of  the  day,  daughter  of  Walter 
Livingston  and  his  wife,  Cornelia  Schuy- 
ler, was  an  accomplished  harpist  and 
sketched  and  painted  with  more  than  ordi- 
nary skill.  Her  father,  by  the  will  of  his 
father,  the  last  Lord  of  the  Manor,  had 
received  as  his  portion  of  the  famous  estate, 
about  28,000  acres  of  ground,  lying  east 
of  the  Post  Road.  Upon  a  commanding 
elevation,  between  the  "Klein"  and  "Roe- 
loff  Jansen"  Kills,  Walter  Livingston 
had  built  a  massive  and  imposing  mansion 
which  he  called  "Teviotdale."  This  be- 
came the  country-home  of  Fulton  and  his 
wife  and  frequent  mention  is  made  of  it 
in  family  letters. 

It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the  in- 
tensity of  the  suspense  and  interest  of 
Fulton  and  his  friends  as  the  Clermont 
218 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

proceeded  upon  her  voyage.  The  appre- 
hension of  the  incredulous  was  turned  to 
joyous  approval  and  wondering  satisfac- 
tion. When  the  guests  realized  the  safety 
and  success  of  the  invention,  they  were 
moved  to  merriment  and  broke  into  song. 
In  the  stern  sat  a  throng  of  gaily  dressed 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  and  as  the  boat 
moved  through  the  glorious  scenery  of 
the  Highlands  some  one  struck  up  "Ye 
Banks  and  Braes  o'  Bonny  Doon,"  said  to 
have  been  Fulton's  favorite  song,  appro- 
priate enough  from  the  lips  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Scottish  Fulton  and  Livingston 
families  upon  America's  most  bonny  river. 

Ye  banks  and  braes  o'  bonny  Doon 
How  can  ye  bloom  sae  fresh  and  fair ; 

How  can  ye  chant,  ye  little  birds, 
And  I  sae  weary  fu'  of  care  ?  ^ 

^On  the  one-hundredth  anniversary  of  steam  naviga- 
tion, the  same  song  was  sung  upon  the  decks  of  the  great 

219 


ROBERT  FULTON 

The  invitations  for  the  first  voyage  had 
been  so  quietly  issued  by  Fulton  and  the 
Chancellor  that  the  newspapers  of  the  city, 
with  but  one  exception,  failed  to  refer  to 
it.  The  "American  Citizen"  contained 
this  brief  notice : 

Mr.  Fulton's  Ingenious  Steam  Boat,  invented 
with  a  view  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
from  New  Orleans  upward,  sails  today  from 
the  North  River,  near  State's  Prison,  to  Albany. 
The  velocity  of  the  Steamboat  is  calculated  at 
four  miles  an  hour.  It  is  said  it  will  make  a 
progress  of  two  against  the  current  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  if  so  it  will  certainly  be  a  very 
valuable  acquisition  to  the  commerce  of  West- 
ern States. 

The  general  impression  of  utility  for  the 
new  invention  was  that  the  boat  would 
prove  an  important  factor  upon  the  Mis- 
boats  of  the  Hudson  River  Day  Line,  where  several  of  Ful- 
ton's descendants,  including  the  writer,  were  guests  of 
honor. 

220 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

sissippi^  and  other  western  rivers,  rather 
than  upon  the  waters  of  the  East.  This  is 
easily  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  recent 
acquisition  of  Louisiana  had  turned  public 
attention  toward  the  necessity  of  exploit- 
ing and  speedily  improving  the  new  terri- 
tory. Probably  most  of  the  citizens  of 
New  York  thought  themselves  fortunately 
supplied  by  the  hosts  of  Hudson  River 
sloops  for  any  needs  of  commerce  or 
travel  which  might  arise.  But  that  Liv- 
ingston and  Fulton,  the  proprietors  of  the 
new  enterprise,  realized  a  wider  purpose 
for  their  new  invention  is  shown  by  Ful- 
ton's letter  to  Barlow  announcing  his  suc- 

^  Extract  from  a  letter  of  Fulton  to  Barlow,  April  19, 1812: 
"The  Mississippi,  as  I  before  wrote  you,  is  conquered; 
the  steara  boat  which  I  have  sent  to  trade  between  New 
Orleans  and  Natchez  carried  1.500  barrels  =  150  tons  from 
New  Orleans  to  Natchez,  against  the  current  313  miles  in 
7  days,  working  in  that  time  84  hours.  These  are  con- 
quests perhaps  as  valuable  as  those  at  Jena."  [Napoleon's 
then  recent  victory.] 

221 


ROBERT  FULTON 

cessful  voyage  (quoted  later)  and  by 
his  prompt  formation  of  schemes  of  navi- 
gation upon  far  distant  waters. 

Fulton  himself,  sensible  of  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  one  newspaper  which  had 
chronicled  his  departure,  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  "American  Citizen,"  which  practically 
contains  "a  sailor's  log"  of  the  first  trip  of 
the  Clermont. 


New  York,  August  20. 

To  THE  Editor  of  The  American  Citizen, 

Sir: 

I  arrived  this  afternoon  at  4  o'clock,  [on] 
the  steam  boat  from  Albany.  As  the  success 
of  my  experiment  gives  me  great  hope  that  such 
boats  may  be  rendered  of  much  importance  to 
my  country,  to  prevent  erroneous  opinions,  and 
to  give  some  satisfaction  to  the  friends  of  use- 
ful improvements,  you  will  have  the  goodness  to 
publish  the  following  statement  of  facts: 

I  left  New  York  on  Monday  at  1  o'clock,  and 

222 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

arrived  at  Clermont,  the  seat  of  Chancellor 
Livingston,  at  1  o'clock  on  Tuesday,  time  24 
hours,  distance  110  miles:  On  Wednesday  I 
departed  from  the  Chancellor's  at  9  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  arrived  at  Albany  at  5  in  the  after- 
noon, distance  40  miles,  time  8  hours ;  the  sum 
of  this  is  150  miles  in  32  hours,  equal  near  5 
miles  an  hour. 

On  Thursday  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  I 
left  Albany  and  arrived  at  the  Chancellor's  at 
6  in  the  evening;  I  started  from  thence  at  7, 
and  arrived  at  New  York  on  Friday  at  4  in  the 
afternoon ;  time  30  hours,  space  run  through 
150  miles,  equal  5  miles  an  hour.  Through- 
out the  whole  way  my  going  and  returning  the 
wind  was  ahead ;  no  advantage  could  be  drawn 
from  my  sails — the  whole  has  therefore  been 
performed  by  the  power  of  the  steam  engine. 
I  am,  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient, 

Robert  Fulton. 


The  Clermont  continued  all  night  upon 
the  journey,  for  it  will  be  noted  that  there 
223 


ROBERT  FULTON 

was  no  deduction  in  time  allowed  in  Ful- 
ton's calculation  of  the  voyage  between 
New  York  and  Albany,  except  the  one 
anchorage  at  Clermont  where  Chancellor 
Livingston  and  his  guests,  including  Rob- 
ert Fulton,  went  on  shore  for  the  second 
night.  The  night  of  August  17th  was 
spent  by  the  company  within  such  shelter 
as  the  boat  could  afford.  Flickering  can- 
dles gave  scant  illumination  in  the  cabin. 
Probably  there  were  improvised  couches  for 
the  ladies  of  the  party,  but  we  know  from 
Fulton's  family  note-book  that  the  bedding 
for  the  boat  was  not  purchased  until  the 
month  of  September,  when  it  appears 
that  he  paid  for  it  $80.75  to  a  Mr.  Lym, 
and  about  the  same  time  bought  "knives 
and  forks"  for  $5  from  James  Wood. 

The  first  captain  of  the  Clermont,  An- 
drew Brink  by  name,   on   the  night  of 
August   18th,   after  he  had   successfully 
224 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

landed  the  Chancellor's  party  upon  the 
east  bank,  rowed  across  the  river  to  his 
home,  and  brought  back  his  wife  that  he 
might  fulfil  his  promise  to  "take  her  to 
Albany  on  a  boat  driven  by  a  tea-kettle." 

It  is  said  that  Fulton  and  Livingston 
first  met  Captain  Brink  during  a  voyage 
up  the  Hudson  upon  the  North  River 
sloop  Maria,  of  which  he  was  then  in 
command.  In  the  little  cabin  of  this  boat 
they  discussed  their  plans  for  the  Clermont 
and  at  the  time  promised  to  install  this 
interested  captain  in  their  own  new  boat 
when  the  long-planned  invention  should  be 
accomplished. 

The  exact  number  of  men  employed  on 
the  Clermont  is  not  actually  known.  In 
Fulton's  account-book,  under  date  of  Sep- 
tember 20,  1807,  we  find  a  partial  pay- 
roll: 

225 


ROBERT  FULTON 

To  Captain  Brink 30  Dollars 

George,  the  Steward 10       " 

Paid  Griffin,  the  Black  Steward     .  12       " 
Paid  Richard  Wilson,  the  Black 

Cook 10       « 

These  sums  undoubtedly  represented 
the  wages  for  the  month  which  had  elapsed 
since  the  first  trip.  There  was  also  a  white 
stewardess  at  this  time,  or  at  a  later  date, 
for  a  woman  who  lived  at  Highland  Falls, 
New  York,  once  sent  an  engraving  of 
Robert  Fulton  to  his  grandson,  Rev.  Dr. 
Crary,  with  the  message  that  her  mother, 
who  was  stewardess  on  the  Clermont,  had 
cherished  the  picture  of  her  employer  for 
many  years. 

The  chief  engineer  on  the  first  voyage 
was  a  Scotchman  whose  name  is  unknown. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  boat  in  Albany  it  is 
said  that  he  celebrated  the  event  by  a  rous- 
ing "spree,"  so  paralyzing  his  activities 
226 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

that  Mr.  Fulton  was  obliged  to  discharge 
him  and  to  promote  a  Mr.  Dyke,  assistant 
engineer,  to  the  chief  position.  This  Mr. 
Dyke,  Charles  by  name,  continued  in  Ful- 
ton's employ  for  many  years,  and  when 
the  Fulton  Ferry  to  Brooklyn  was  estab- 
lished, Dyke  was  appointed  by  Fulton  en- 
gineer of  the  first  boat. 

FROM    NATIONAL   PORTRAIT    GALLERY,    VOL.    III. 

"I  vividly  remember  the  starting  of  [the  second  ferry 
boat]  and  a  painful  incident  therewith  connected. — The 
boat  had  made  one  or  two  trips — and  was  lying  at  the 
wharf  at  the  foot  of  Beekman  slip.  Some  derangement  had 
taken  place  in  the  machinery,  which  the  chief  engineer  was 
engaged  in  rectifying.  When  the  machinery  was  set  in 
motion  it  came  in  contact  with  the  engineer,  and  mangled 
him  in  a  manner  that  produced  hiiS  death  the  next  day.  He 
was  removed  to  the  house  adjacent  to  that  of  the  writer, 
and  well  does  he  recall  the  conversation  between  Mr.  Ful- 
ton and  the  attending  surgeon  in  reference  to  the  unfor- 
tunate man. — Mr.  Fulton,  much  affected,  remarked— 

"  '  Sir,  I  will  give  all  I  am  worth  to  save  the  life  of  that 
man.' 

"  When  told  that  his  recovery  was  hopeless,  he  was  per- 
fectly unmanned  and  wept  like  a  child.  It  is  here  intro- 
duced as  showing  that  while  his  own  misfortunes  never  for  a 
single  moment  disturbed  his  equanimity,  the  finer  feelings  of 
his  nature  were  sensitively  alive  to  the  distresses  of  others." 

(Signed)  N.  B.  B. 

18  227 


ROBERT  FULTON 

An  interesting  contemporaneous  ac- 
count was  written  by  a  Frenchman  of  note 
— M.  Michaux,  a  distinguished  botanist — 
who  accompanied  Fulton  and  Livingston 
upon  the  return  trip  from  Albany.  He 
arrived  at  Burlington  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  with  his  companion  M.  Parmentier, 
and  thence  went  to  Albany.  M.  Michaux 
writes :  ^ 

The  relations,  commercial  and  other,  of  all 
bonds  between  these  cities  are  many  and  fre- 
quent. At  this  time  decked  sailing  vessels  ar- 
rived and  departed  every  day  with  twenty-five 
or  thirty  passengers.  The  passage  generally 
took  36  or  48  hours,  according  as  the  wind  or 
tide  were  more  or  less  favorable. 

We  had  been  three  days  at  Albany  when  the 
arrival  from  New  York  of  a  vessel  propelled 
by  steam  was  announced.  This  boat,  which 
was  decked,  was  about  25  metres  (82  feet)^  long 

'Translated  for  the  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute, 
Philadelphia. 
2  An  evident  error;  the  length  of  the  vessel  was  150  feet. 

228 


RciHI{RT    l-ll.Tt)X 
Irom  tlie  painting  liy  Benjamin  West.     Owned  by  R.  I'.  I.udlow,  Claverack,  New  York 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

and  was  commanded  by  the  inventor,  Mr. 
Robert  Fulton.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  and  strangers  who  were  there  at  the  time 
went  to  visit  it.  Every  one  made  his  remarks 
upon  the  advantages  consequent  upon  the  new 
means  of  navigation,  but  also  upon  the  serious 
accidents  which  might  result  from  the  explosion 
of  the  boiler.  The  vessel  was  lying  alongside 
the  wharf:  a  placard  announced  its  return  to 
New  York  for  the  next  day  but  one,  the  20th  of 
August,  and  that  it  would  take  passengers  at 
the  same  price  as  the  sailing  vessels — three 
dollars. 

So  great  was  the  fear  of  the  explosion  of  the 
boiler  that  no  one,  except  my  companion  and 
myself,  dared  to  take  passage  in  it  for  New 
York.  We  quitted  Albany  on  the  20th  of  Au- 
gust in  the  presence  of  a  great  number  of  spec- 
tators. Chancellor  Livingston,  whom  we  sup- 
posed to  be  one  of  the  promoters  of  this  new 
way  of  navigating  rivers,  was  the  only  stranger 
with  us :  he  quitted  the  boat  in  the  afternoon  to 
go  to  his  country  residence  which  was  upon  the 
left  bank  of  the  river.  From  every  point  on  the 
river  whence  the  boat,  announced  by  the  smoke 
of  its  chimney,  could  be  seen,  we  saw  the  in- 

231 


ROBERT  FULTON 

habitants  collect;  thej  waved  their  handker- 
cliicfs  and  hurrahed  for  Fulton,  whose  passage 
tliey  had  probably  noticed  as  he  ascended  the 
river. 

We  arrived  the  next  day  between  one  and  two 
o'clock  at  New  York.  We  separated  from  Mr. 
Fulton  after  paying  him  the  price  of  our  pas- 
sage. The  day  after  our  departure  from  Al- 
bany, and  a  few  minutes  after  Chancellor  Liv- 
ingston had  quitted  us,  Mr.  Fulton  expressed 
his  surprise  that  notwithstanding  the  number  of 
persons  who  were  going  to  New  York,  only  two 
Frenchmen  had  the  courage  to  embark  with 
him.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation  I  in- 
formed him  that  M.  Chaptal,  then  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  had  instructed  me  to  examine  the 
forests  of  America.  ...  It  appears  that,  at 
this  time,  Mr.  Fulton  did  not  suspect  that  steam 
navigation  might  one  day  be  applied  to  the 
sea. 

The  following  record  of  the  passengers 
and  their  respective  payments  for  convey- 
ance   from   Albany   to    New   Y^ork   was 
copied  from  the  originar'Captain'sbook," 
232 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

formerly  in  possession  of  Mr.  Clermont 
Livingston.  It  is  quoted  in  "The  Living- 
stons of  Callendar." 

List  of  passengers  on  board  the  North  River 
Steamboat  from  Albany  to  New  York,  August 
21,  1807: 

Dollars 

Captain  Thomas  Hunt 7 

Monsieur  Parmentoo  ) 
Monsieur  Mishaud       C 

Mr.  D.  E.  Tyle 6  ' 

Captain  Davies 1 

27 
Mr.  Fulton 

Joel  Barlow,  then  resident  at  Kalorama, 
his  country-seat  near  Washington,  re- 
ceived about  this  time  the  following  inter- 
esting letter  ^  from  Fulton  which  elaborates 
the  main  points  of  his  account  forwarded 
to    "The    American    Citizen."      Fulton's 

i"Life  and  Letters  of  Joel  Barlow,"  by  C.  B.  Todd. 

233 


ROBERT  FULTON 

enthusiasm  in  the  success  of  his  project  is 
strongly  manifested  and  it  will  be  noted 
that  he  was  already  confident  that  great 
future  advantages  to  America  would  re- 
sult from  the  new  invention : 

My  steamboat  voyage  to  Albany  and  back 
has  turned  out  rather  more  favorably  than  I 
had  calculated.  The  distance  from  New  York 
to  Albany  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  I  ran 
it  up  in  thirty-two  hours,  and  down  in  thirty. 
I  had  a  light  breeze  against  me  the  whole  way, 
both  going  and  coming,  and  the  voyage  has  been 
performed  wholly  by  the  power  of  the  steam 
engine,  I  overtook  many  sloops  and  schooners, 
beating  to  the  windward,  and  parted  with  them 
as  if  they  had  been  at  anchor.  The  power  of 
propelling  boats  by  steam  is  now  fully  proved. 
The  morning  I  left  New  York,  there  were  not 
perhaps  thirty  persons  in  the  city  who  believed 
that  the  boat  would  ever  move  one  mile  an  hour, 
or  be  of  the  least  utility,  and  while  we  were  put- 
ting off  from  the  wharf,  which  was  crowded  with 
spectators,  I  heard  a  number  of  sarcastic  re- 
marks.     This  is  the  way  in  which  ignorant  men 

234 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

compliment  what  they  call  philosophers  and 
projectors.  Having  employed  much  time,  money 
and  zeal  in  accomphshing  this  work,  it  gives 
me,  as  it  will  you,  great  pleasure  to  see  it  fully 
answer  my  expectations.  It  will  give  a  cheap 
and  quick  conveyance  to  the  merchandise  on  the 
Mississippi,  Missouri,  and  other  great  rivers, 
which  are  now  laying  open  their  treasures  to 
the  enterprise  of  our  countrymen ;  and  although 
the  prospect  of  personal  emolument  has  been 
some  inducement  to  me,  yet  I  feel  infinitely  more 
pleasure  in  reflecting  on  the  immense  advantage 
that  my  country  will  derive  from  the  invention. 

Barlow  in  a  letter^  to  Chancellor  Liv- 
ingston, written  the  18th  of  September, 
1807,  says: 

I  sincerely  rejoice  with  you  at  the  success  of 
our  mutual  and  good  friend  Fulton  with  the 
Steam  Boat,  and  hope  and  trust  it  will  answer 
your  highest  expectations.  Next  year  we  in- 
tend to  make  an  excursion  to  the  North,  we 
hope   with   Fulton,   when   we   will   try   the   new 

^  In  the  library  of  Haverford  College. 

235 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Balloon  up  the  river,  and  make  you  the  visit 
on  which  our  hearts  are  much  fixt. 


After  her  return  from  the  first  voyage 
up  the  Hudson,  the  Clermont  was  left  at 
the  New  York  dock  for  more  than  two 
weeks.  This  time  was  considered  neces- 
sary by  Fulton  and  Livingston  to  fit  the 
boat  for  regular  traffic  and  to  make  certain 
improvements  which  Fulton  notes  in  the 
following  letter  to  the  Chancellor,  who 
had  remained  at  his  country  place. 

New  York, 
Saturday,  the  28  [29th]  of  August,  1807 
Dear  Sir: 

On  Saturday  I  wrote  you  that  I  arrived  here 
on  Friday  at  four  o'clock,  which  made  my 
voyage  from  Albany  exactly  thirty  hours.  We 
had  a  little  wind  on  Friday  morning,  but  no 
waves  which  produced  any  effect.  I  have  been 
making  every  exertion  to  get  off  on  Monday 
morning,  but  there  has  been  much  work  to  do  — 

236 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

boarding  all  the  sides,  decking  over  the  boiler 
and  works,  finishing  each  cabin  with  twelve 
berths  to  make  them  comfortable,  and  strength- 
ening many  parts  of  the  iron  work.  So  much 
to  do,  and  the  rain,  which  delays  the  caulkers, 
will,  I  fear,  not  let  me  off  till  Wednesday  morn- 
ing. Then,  however,  the  boat  will  be  as  com- 
plete as  she  can  be  made — all  strong  and  in 
good  order  and  the  men  well  organized,  and  I 
hope,  nothing  to  do  but  to  run  her  for  six  weeks 
or  two  months.  The  first  week,  that  is  if  she 
starts  on  Wednesday,  she  will  make  one  trip  to 
Albany  and  back.  Every  succeeding  week  she 
will  run  three  trips — that  is,  two  to  Albany 
and  one  to  New  York,  or  two  to  New  York 
and  one  to  Albany,  always  having  Sunday  and 
four  nights  for  rest  to  the  crew.  By  carrying 
for  the  usual  price  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
the  steamboat  will  have  the  preference  because 
of  the  certainty  and  agreeable  movements.  I 
have  seen  the  captain  of  the  fine  sloop  from 
Hudson.  He  says  the  average  of  his  passages 
have  been  forty-eight  hours.  For  the  steam- 
boat it  would  have  been  thirty  certain.  The 
persons  who  came  down  with  me  were  so  much 
pleased  that  they  said  were  she  established  to 

237 


ROBERT  FULTON 

run  periodically  they  would  never  go  in  any 
thing  else.  I  will  ha^'^  her  registered  and 
every  thing  done  which  I  can  recollect.  Every 
thing  looks  well  and  I  have  no  doubt  will  be 
very  productive. 

Yours  truly, 

Robert  Fulton. 


The  following  postscript  ends  the  letter 
of  August  29th:  ^ 

You  may  look  for  me  Thursday  morning 
about  seven  o'clock.  I  think  it  would  be  well 
to  write  to  your  brother  Edward  to  get  infor- 
mation on  the  velocity  of  the  Mississippi,  the 
size  and  form  of  the  boats  used,  the  number  of 
hands  and  quantity  of  tons  in  each  boat,  the 
number  of  miles  they  make  against  the  current 
in  twelve  hours,  and  the  quantity  of  tons  which 
go  up  the  river  in  a  year.  On  this  point  beg 
of  him  to  be  accurate. 

1  Robert  Fulton  to  Robert  R.  Livingston,  Saturday, 
28  [29th]  August,  1807.  Original  formerly  in  possession 
of  Mr.  Clermont  Livingston. 

238 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

On  the  2d  of  September,  the  necessary 
equipment  and  alterations  having  been 
completed,  Fulton  inserted  his  first  adver- 
tisement in  "The  Albany  Gazette,"  and 
the  "Evening  Post"  of  New  York.  It 
read: 

THE  NORTH  RIVER  STEAM  BOAT 

Will  leave  Pauler's  Hook  Ferry  on  Fri- 
day the  4^^  of  September,  at  6  in  the 
morning,  and  arrive  at  Albany,  on  Sat- 
urday, at  6  in  the  afternoon. 

Provisions,  good  berths  and  accommo- 
dations are  provided. 

The  charge  to  each  passenger  is  as 
follows : 

To  Newburgh      $3       time  14  hours 
To  Poughkeepsie  4  17 

To  Esopus  4j/^  20 

To  Hudson  5  30 

To  Albany  7  36 

239 


ROBERT  FULTON 

For  places,  apply  to  Wm.Vandervoort, 
N°-  48  Courtlandt-street,  on  the  corner 
of  Greenwich-street. 

Way  passengers  to  Tarry  Town,  etc., 
etc.,  will  apply  to  the  captain  on  board. 

The  Steam  Boat  will  leave  Albany  on 
Monday  the  7'^  of  September  at  6  in  the 
morning  and  arrive  at  New-York  on 
Tuesday  at  6  in  the  evening. 

She  will  leave  New- York  on  Wed- 
nesday morning  at  6,  and  arrive  at 
Albany  on  Thursday  evening  at  6  in 
the  evening. 

She  will  leave  Albany  on  Friday 
morning  at  6,  and  arrive  at  New -York 
on  Saturday  evening  at  6. — Thus  per- 
forming two  voyages  from  Albany  and 
one  from  New-York  within  the  week. 
On  Monday  the  14''',  and  Friday  the 
1 8^*",  she  will  leave  New-York  at  6  in  the 
morning,  and  Albany  on  the  16'^,  at  6 
240 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

in  the  morning,  after  which  the  arrange- 
ments for  her  departure  will  be  an- 
nounced. 

On  the  same  day  Fulton  paid  $4.50  for 
the  advertisement  and  also  bought  some 
furnishings,  previously  noted,  for  the 
Clermont. 

For  three  weeks  this  advertisement  con- 
tinued to  appear,  but  on  September  23d  a 
new  announcement  was  issued : 

The  Steam  Boat  being  thoroughly 
repaired,  and  precaution  taken  that  in- 
jury shall  not  be  done  to  her  wheels  in 
future,  it  is  intended  to  run  her  as  a 
PACKET  for  the  remainder  of  the  sea- 
son. She  will  take  her  departure  from 
New -York  and  Albany  at  9  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  always  perform  her 
voyage  in  from  30  to  36  hours. 
241 


ROBERT  FULTON 

The  time  of  her  departure  for  the 
first  nine  voyages  will  be  as  follows  : 
Fro7n  Albany,  Friday  the  25'^  September. 
From  New -York,  Monday  28'^     do. 
From  Albany,  Wednesday  30'^      do. 
From  New -York,  Friday  2}  October. 
Fro77i  Albany,  Monday  5^''  " 

From  New -York  Wednesday  7'^  do. 
From  Albany,  Friday  9'**  do. 

For  passage,  apply  to  Mr.  William 
Vandervoort, N"- 48  Courtlandt-Street, 
corner  of  Greenwich-street. 

Several  minor  mishaps  occurred  during 
the  first  months  of  the  new  manner  of 
voyaging.  INIaladjustments  were  to  be 
expected,  hut  it  also  appears  that  tlie 
sloops  of  the  Hudson,  either  purposely  or 
by  the  strange  attraction  which  one  mov- 
ing body  feels  for  another,  especially  in 
the  moment  of  a  helmsman's  fear,  had 
242 


STATlIi    or    KDlilKl     Ml  MS    Al     Mil-    lllHiN    I  I- KK  V-IIOI'SI:, 
lIKiioKI  V\.  M\\     VDKK 

Miidulcd  .iftcr  the  J.irvis  portrait    no«  in  possevsioii  of  tlie  Misses  Vinton 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

several  serious  collisions  with  the  Cler- 
mont. 

It  is  recorded  that  chief  among  the 
troubles  encountered  were  the  erratic 
movements  of  the  river  sloops  which  ran 
afoul  of  the  steamboat  whenever  oppor- 
tunity offered.  On  October  2d  the  Cler- 
mont lost  one  paddle-wheel  from  such  a 
collision,  and  had  to  be  withdrawn  from 
service.  This  damage  was  speedily  re- 
paired and  she  was  soon  able  to  resume  the 
regular  trips.  Each  day  the  passengers 
became  more  numerous.  Twenty-four 
made  the  trip  on  September  4th,  but  by 
October  1st  the  number  had  increased  to 
sixty,  and  by  November  her  cabins  were 
overcrowded  with  more  than  a  hundred. 

The  "Evening  Post"  of  October  2, 
1807,  contained  this  item  of  news: 

Steam  Boat.  Mr.  Fulton's  new  invented 
Steam  Boat  which   is  fitted  up  in   a  neat  stile 

245 


ROBERT  FULTON 

for  passengers,  and  is  intended  to  run  from 
New  York  to  Albany  as  a  Packet,  left  here 
this  morning  with  Ninety  passengers,  against  a 
strong  head  wind.  Notwithstanding  which,  it 
was  judged  she  moved  through  the  water  at  the 
rate  of  six  miles  an  hour.  Yesterday  she  came 
in  from  Albany  in  28  hours  with  60  passengers. 
Quere,  [^ic]  would  it  not  be  well  if  she  could 
contract  with  the  Post  Master  General  to  carry 
the  mail  from  this  city  to  Albany.'^ 

The  popularity  and  success  of  Fulton's 
venture  were  now  assured.  Enthusiastic 
passengers  began  to  write  letters  to  the 
press,  and  from  that  time  on  records  are 
less  meager.  One  of  the  earliest  descrip- 
tions is  that  of  Judge  Jolin  Q.  Wilson,  of 
Albany,  who  in  185G,  at  the  request  of 
friends,  wrote  an  account  of  his  memo- 
rable voyage  upon  the  Clermont,  when  she 
was  first  put  into  use  as  a  packet. 

It  may  be  of  some  interest  to  the  present 
generation   to   have   a   correct   account   of  the 

24)6 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

first  boat  built  by  Fulton  and  Livingston,  on 
her  first  trip  as  a  passage  vessel,  by  one  who 
was  then  a  passenger.  The  writer  of  this  ar- 
ticle resided  in  New  York,  and  was  often  in 
the  shipyard  when  Mr.  Fulton  was  building  his 
first  boat.  She  was  a  queer  looking  craft;  and, 
like  every  thing  new,  excited  much  attention, 
and  not  a  little  ridicule.  When  she  was 
launched,  and  the  steam  engine  placed  in  her 
that  also  was  looked  upon  as  a  piece  [of  folly] 
with  the  boat  built  to  float  it.  In  those  days 
the  operations  of  the  steam  engine  were  but 
little  known.  A  few  had  seen  the  one  for  rais- 
ing the  Manhattan  water,  but  to  the  people 
at  large  the  thing  was  a  hidden  mystery. 
Curiosity  was  now  greatly  excited.  When  it 
was  announced  in  New  York  that  the  boat 
would  start  from  the  foot  of  Courtlandt  street 
at  6^2  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  the  4th  of 
September,  and  take  passengers  to  Albany, 
there  was  a  broad  smile  on  ever.y  face  as  the 
inquiry  was  made  if  anybody  would  be  fool- 
hardy enough  to  go.  A  friend  of  the  writer  of 
this  article,  hearing  he  intended  to  venture, 
accosted  him  in  the  street :  "John,  will  thee  risk 
thy  life  in  such  a  concern?     I  tell  thee  she  is 

"  247 


ROBERT  FULTON 

the  most  fearful  wild  fowl  living,  and  thy  father 
ought  to  restrain  thee." 

When  Friday  morning  came  the  wharves, 
piers,  housetops,  and  every  spot  from  which 
a  sight  could  be  obtained,  were  filled  with  spec- 
tators. Tliere  were  twelve  berths,  and  every 
one  was  taken.  The  fare  was  $7.  All  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  boat  was  fully  exposed  to  view; 
the  water  and  balance  wheels  were  entirely  un- 
covered.^ The  peripheries  were  of  cast-iron, 
some  four  inches  or  more  square,  and  ran  just 
clear  of  the  water.  The  weight  of  both  the 
water  and  balance-wheels  was  sustained  by  the 
shafts,  which  projected  over  the  sides  of  the 
vessel.  There  were  no  outside  guards.  The 
forward  part  of  the  boat  was  covered  by  a 
deck,  which  afforded  shelter  for  the  men  em- 
ployed in  navigating  the  boat.  The  after  part 
was  fitted  up  in  a  rough  manner  for  passengers ; 
the  entrance  into  the  cabin  was  from  the  stern, 
in  front  of  the  steersman,  who  worked  a  tiller,  the 
same  as  in  an  ordinary  sloop.  Thick,  black  smoke 
issued  from  the  chimney  —  steam  hissed  from 
every  ill-fated  valve  and  crevice  of  the  engine. 

^  The  covering:  was  placed  upon  the  remodeled  boat  and 
was  not  upon  the  Clermont, 

248 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Fulton  himself  was  there,  his  remarkably  clear 
and  sharp  voice  was  heard  above  the  hum  of  the 
multitude  and  noise  of  the  engine.  All  his  actions 
were  confident  and  decided,  unheeding  the  fear- 
fulness  of  some  and  the  doubts  and  sarcasms 
of  others.  In  the  whole  scene  combined  there 
was  an  individuality  and  an  interest  which,  like 
"love's  young  dream,"  comes  but  once,  and  is 
remembered  forever.  The  time  for  the  depar- 
ture of  the  boat  arrived ;  some  of  the  machinery 
still  required  to  be  adjusted;  there  was  a  delay. 
Some  of  the  passengers  said,  in  Fulton's  hear- 
ing, they  feared  the  voyage  would  prove  a  fail- 
ure.    He  repHed: 

"Gentlemen,  you  need  not  be  uneasy ;  you 
shall  be  in  Albany  before  twelve  o'clock  to- 
morrow." 

When  everything  was  ready,  the  engine  was 
started,  and  the  boat  moved  steadily  but  slowly 
from  the  wharf.  As  she  turned  up  the  river 
and  was  fairly  under  way  there  arose  such  a 
huzza  as  ten  thousand  throats  never  gave  be- 
fore. The  passengers  returned  the  cheer,  but 
Fulton  stood  erect  upon  the  deck,  his  eye  flash- 
ing with  an  unearthly  brilliancy  as  he  surveyed 
the  crowd.      He  felt  that  the  magic  wand  of  suc- 

249 


ROBERT  FULTON 

cess  was  waving  over  him,  and  he  was  silent. 
It  was  agreed  that  a  kind  of  log-book  should 
be  kept.  Gerrit  H.  Van  Wagencn  was  desig- 
nated to  give  the  time,  and  the  writer  of  this 
article  to  set  it  down.  At  the  termination  of 
the  voyage,  the  following  paper  was  drawn  up 
and  signed  by  all  the  passengers  and  published 
in  the  Albany  "Register"  of  Tuesday,  September 
8,  1807: 

"On  Friday  morning,  at  eighteen  minutes 
before  7  o'clock,  the  North  River  steamboat 
left  New  York,  landed  one  passenger  at  Tarry- 
town  (twenty-five  miles)  and  arrived  at  New- 
burgh  (sixty-three  miles)  at  4  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon ;  landed  one  passenger  there,  and  ar- 
rived at  Clermont  (one  hundred  miles),  where 
two  passengers,  one  of  whom  was  Mr.  Fulton, 
were  landed  at  fifteen  minutes  before  2  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  arrived  at  Albany  at  twen- 
ty-seven minutes  past  11  o'clock,  making  the 
whole  time  twenty-eight  hours  and  forty-five 
minutes;  distance,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
The  wind  was  favorable,  but  light  from  Ver- 
planck's  Point  to  Wappinger's  Creek  (forty 
miles).  The  remainder  of  the  way  it  was 
ahead,  or  there  was   a  dead  calm.      The  sub- 

250 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

scribers,  passengers  on  board  of  this  boat  on 
her  first  passage  as  a  packet,  think  it  but  jus- 
tice to  state  that  the  accommodations  and  con- 
veniences on  board  exceeded  their  most  san- 
guine expectations: 

Selah  Strong,  G.   H.   Van   Wagenen, 

Thomas  Wallace,  John    Q.    Wilson, 

John  P.  Anthony,  Dennis  H.  Doyle, 

George  Wetmore,  William  S.  Hicks, 

J.  Bowman,  J.  Crane, 

James  Braden,  Stephen  N.  Rowan. 
Albany,  September  5,  1807." 

When  coming  up  Haverstraw  Bay  a  man  in 
a  skiff  lay  waiting  for  us.  His  appearance  in- 
dicated a  miller;  the  paddle-wheels  had  very 
naturally  attracted  his  attention ;  he  asked  per- 
mission to  come  on  board.  Fulton  ordered  a 
line  to  be  thrown  to  him,  and  he  was  drawn 
alongside.  He  said  he  "did  not  know  about  a 
mill  going  upstream,  and  came  to  inquire  about 
it."  One  of  the  passengers,  an  Irishman,  seeing 
through  the  simple-minded  miller  man  at  a  glance, 
became  his  cicerone ;  showed  him  all  the  machin- 
ery and  contrivances  by  which  one  wheel  could 

251 


ROBERT  FULTON 

be  thrown  out  of  gear  when  the  mill  was  required 
to  come  about.  After  finishing  the  examina- 
tion, said  he,  "that  will  do ;  now  show  me  the 
mill-stones."  "Oh,"  said  the  other,  "that  is  a 
secret  which  the  master,"  pointing  to  Fulton, 
"has  never  told  us ;  but  when  we  come  back 
from  Albany  with  a  load  of  corn,  then  if  you 
come  on  board  you  will  see  the  meal  fly."  Den- 
nis kept  his  countenance  and  the  miller  left.  As 
we  passed  West  Point  the  whole  garrison  was 
out  and  cheered  us.  At  Newburgh  it  seemed 
as  if  all  Orange  County  had  collected  there ;  the 
whole  side-hill  city  seemed  animated  with  life. 
Every  sail-boat  and  water  craft  was  out ;  the 
ferry-boat  from  Fishkill  was  filled  with  ladies. 
Fulton  was  engaged  in  seeing  a  passenger 
landed,  and  did  not  observe  the  boat  until  she 
bore  up  alongside.  The  flapping  of  the  sail 
arrested  his  attention,  and  as  he  turned,  the 
M'aving  of  so  many  handkerchiefs  and  the  smiles 
of  bright  and  happy  faces,  struck  him  with  sur- 
prise. He  raised  his  hat  and  exclaimed,  "That 
is  the  finest  sight  we  have  seen  yet." 


252 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

FULTON 'S  LETTER  TO  THE  CAPTAIN 

By  October  the  Clermont  was  fully  estab- 
lished as  a  packet  for  the  public.  Captain 
Brink  remained  in  charge  throughout  the 
year  1807  and  was  succeeded  the  following 
spring  by  Captain  Samuel  Wiswall,  who 
remained  for  many  years  thereafter  in 
Fulton's  employ.  That  Fulton  realized 
the  responsibilities  of  leadership  and  ex- 
pected each  man  whom  he  placed  in  au- 
thority to  prove  his  fitness  for  the  task,  is 
shown  in  the  following  masterly  letter  now 
in  possession  of  a  grandson  of  Captain 
Brink : 

New  York,  Oct.  9,  1807. 
Capt  Brink: — 
Sir — 

Inclosed  is   the  number  of  voyages  which 
it  is  intended  the  Boat  should  run  this  season. 

253 


ROBERT  FULTON 

You  may  have  them  published   in  the  Albany 
papers. 

As  she  is  strongly  man'd  and  every  one  ex- 
cept Jackson  under  your  command,  you  must 
insist  on  each  one  doing  his  duty  or  turn  him 
on  shore  and  put  another  in  his  place.  Every- 
thing must  be  kept  in  order,  everything  in  its 
place,  and  all  parts  of  the  Boat  scoured  and 
clean.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  tell  men  to  do  a 
thing,  but  stand  over  them  and  make  them  do  it. 
One  pair  of  Quick  and  good  eyes  is  worth  six 
pair  of  hands  in  a  commander.  If  the  Boat 
is  dirty  and  out  of  order  the  fault  shall  be 
yours.  Let  no  man  be  Idle  when  there  is  the 
least  thing  to  do,  and  make  them  move  quick. 

Run  no  risques  of  any  kind  when  you  meet 
or  overtake  vessels  beating  or  crossing  your 
way.  Always  run  under  their  stern  if  there  be 
the  least  doubt  that  you  cannot  clear  their 
head  by  50  yards  or  more.  Give  in  the  ac- 
counts of  Receipts  and  expenses  every  week  to 
the  Chancellor. 

Your  most  Obodient 

RoBT.  Fulton. 
254 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

In  his  Life  of  Robert  Fulton,  James 
Renwick,  LL.D.,  includes  the  following 
valuable  description  of  the  inventor's 
charm  of  personality: 

"Fulton  was  in  person  considerably 
above  the  middle  height;  his  countenance 
bore  marks  of  intelligence  and  talent. 
Natural  refinement,  and  long  intercourse 
with  the  most  polished  societies  both  of 
Europe  and  America,  had  given  him 
grace  and  elegance  of  manners.  His 
great  success,  and  the  belief  that  his  in- 
vention had  secured  the  certainty  of  great 
wealth,  however  unfounded  this  belief 
was  proved  to  be  after  his  death,  never 
for  a  moment  rendered  him  arrogant  or 
assuming.  Fond  of  society,  he  was  the 
soul  of  the  intelligent  circle  in  which  he 
moved,  and  of  which  his  hospitable  man- 
sion was  the  center.  The  fine  arts,  once 
his  chosen  profession,  were  his  recreation 
255 


ROBERT  FULTON 

and  delight  in  after  life;  and  he  not  only 
practised  them  himself,  but  bomitifully 
encouraged  the  efforts  of  others." 

On  the  13th  of  November,  another  mis- 
hap occurred  to  the  Clermont^  which 
necessitated  a  delay  of  one  day  in  the  ful- 
filment of  her  schedule.  The  "Evening 
Post"  chronicled  the  slight  accident  on  the 
following  day,  November  14th,  which,  it 
may  be  observed,  was  Fulton's  forty- 
second  birthday: 

Steam  Boat — Yesterday  morning  the  Steam 
Boat  left  Courtlandt-street  dock  for  Albany, 
with  between  40  and  50  passengers.  She  had 
not  proceeded  further  than  opposite  the  State 
Prison,  before  one  of  the  axelctrecs  [^sic^  broke 
off  short,  and  she  was  obliged  to  return.  We 
understand  she  will  be  repaired  in  the  course 
of  the  day,  and  start  again  to-morrow  morning 
at  10  o'clock. 

Fulton  contrived  to  run  the  vessel  upon 
scheduled  trips,  until  the  ice  in  tlie  river 
made    navigation    impossible.      She    was 
256 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

crowded  with  passengers  and  the  commer- 
cial success  of  the  experiment  was  fully 
guaranteed.  The  "Post"  stated  on  the 
19th  of  November: 

We  learn  by  the  passengers  who  arrived 
last  evening  from  Albany  in  the  Steam  Boat, 
that  on  Monday  last  the  river  from  Albany 
down  as  far  as  Coxsackie  froze  entirely  across. 

But  the  passengers  themselves  felt  no 

inconvenience  or  impatience  from  the  ice 

impact,  as  is  evidenced  in  their  letter  to 

the  "Post." 

New  York,  November  19,  1807 

The  subscribers,  passengers  in  the  North 
River  Steam  Boat,  state  that  the  Boat  left  the 
dock  at  Albany,  at  half  past  4  o'clock  on  Tues- 
day afternoon,  the  17th  instant — that  they  took 
in  some  passengers  at  the  Overslaugh — came 
too  [*ic]  at  Hudson,  and  owing  to  the  violence  of 
the  wind,  was  obliged  to  cast  anchor  near  Stony 
Point.  That  they  arrived  at  the  Hoboken 
ferry,  on  the  Jersey  shore,  last  evening,  the 
18th  inst.  at  half  past  10  o'clock.  The  time 
then  will  be  as  follows : 

257 


ROBERT  FULTON 

From  Tuesday  half  past  4  P.  M.  to 

Wednesday  half  past  2  P.  M.     .      .30  hours 

Deduct  time  the  Boat  was  at  anchor 
during  the  passage,  at  and  near 
Stony  Point 7  hours 

23  hours 

The  subscribers  cannot  but  express  their 
most  unequivocal  approbation  of  the  treatment 
they  received  during  the  passage,  and  that  no 
accident  of  any  kind  occurred,  although  during 
the  whole  passage  the  wind  was  extremely  vio- 
lent, particularly  when  the  Boat  came  too  [sec] 
at  Stony  Point. 

J.  V.  N.  Yates,  J.  Warner,  Junr., 

James  McVarncr,  William  W.   Russell, 

Sidney  Berry,  Junr.,  J.  Nathan  Perkins, 

W.  V.  Yates,  Pliny  Adams, 

T.  Stitson,  Daniel  Geer. 
Peter  Morte, 

The  Steam  Boat  will  start  from  here  again 
next  Sunday  morning  precisely  at  10  o'clock. 

During    the    succeeding    months,    the 
Clermont  was  kept  in  winter  quarters,  and 
258 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

underwent  important  alterations  and  im- 
provements. The  following  letter  from 
Fulton,  who  was  then  in  Washington,  to 
Chancellor  Livingston  in  New  York  fully 
notes  the  plans  for  the  enlargement  of  the 
boat  and  gives  the  specifications  for  her 
future  financial  and  structural  develop- 
ment. 

The  important  letter  is  in  possession  of 
the  New  York  Historical  Society: 

To  Robert  R.  Livingston 

Washington  November  the  20th  1807 
Dear  Sir 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  12th  inst. 
after  all  accidents  and  delays  our  boat  has 
cleared  5  per  cent  on  the  capital  expended  and 
as  the  people  are  not  discouraged  but  continue 
to  go  in  her  at  all  risques,  and  even  increase 
in  numbers  I  think  with  you  that  one  which 
should  be  complete  would  produce  us  from  8 
to  10,000  dollars  a  year  or  perhaps  more  and 
that  another  boat  which  will  cost  15,000  dol- 

259 


ROBERT  FULTON 

lars  will  also  produce  us  10,000  dollars  a  year 
therefore  as  this  is  the  only  method  which  I 
know  of  gaining  50  or  75  per  cent  I  am  on  my 
part  determined  not  to  dispose  of  any  portion 
of  my  interest  on  the  North  river  but  I  will  sell 
so  much  of  my  funds  as  will  pay  my  part  of 
rendering  this  boat  complete  and  for  establish- 
ing another  so  that  one  will  depart  from  Albany 
and  one  from  New  York  every  other  day  and 
carry  all  the  passengers.  It  is  now  necessary 
to  consider  how  to  put  our  first  boat  in  a  com- 
plete state  for  8  or  10  years  —  and  when  I  re- 
flect tliat  the  present  one  is  so  weak  that  she 
must  have  additional  knees  and  timbers,  new 
side  timbers  deck  beams  and  deck,  new  windows 
and  cabins  altered,  that  she  perhaps  must  be 
sheathed,  her  boiler  taken  out  and  a  new  one 
put  in  her  axels  forged  and  Iron  work  strength- 
ened with  all  this  work  the  saving  of  the  present 
hull  is  of  little  consequence  particularly  as 
many  of  her  Knees  Bolts  timbers  and  planks 
could  enter  into  the  construction  of  a  new  boat, 
my  present  opinion  therefore  is  that  we  should 
build  a  new  hull  her  knees  and  floor  timbers  to 
be  of  oak  her  bottom  planks  of  2  Inch  oak  her 
side  planks  two  Inch  oak  for  3  feet  high 
She  to  be  16  feet  wide  150  feet  long  this  will  make 

260 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

her  near  twice  as  Stiff  as  at  present  and  enable 
us  to  carry  a  much  greater  quantity  of  sail,  the 
4  feet  additional  width  will  require  1146  lbs  ad- 
ditional purchase  at  the  engine  moving  2  feet 
a  second  or  15  double  strokes  a  minute  this 
will  be  gained  by  raising  the  steam  5  lb  to  the 
Inch  as  24  Inches  the  diameter  of  the  cylinder 
gives  570  round  Inches  at  3  lb  to  the  inch  = 
1710  lb  purchase  gained  to  accomplish  this 
with  a  good  boiler  and  a  commodious  boat  run- 
ning our  present  speed,  of  a  voyage  in  30  hours 
I  think  better  and  more  productive  to  us  than 
to  gain  one  mile  on  the  present  boat. 

The    new    boat    Cabins    and    all    com- 
plete including  our  materials  will  cost 

perhaps 2000$ 

Boiler 800 

Iron  work  in  the  best  manner  and  mens 

wages   during  the  winter      ....   1200 

4000 
To  meet  this  I  find  that  our  copper  boiler 
weighs  3930  lb  which  at  40  cents  all 
the    price    paid    by    government    will 

produce 1570$ 

Profits  of  this  year 1000 

2570 
263 


ROBERT  FULTON 

So  that  we  shall  have  to  provide  about  1,500$ 
added  to  3,000  Bills  against  us  in  the  Bank, 
with  this  arrangement  we  shall  have  one  Boat 
in  complete  play  producing  about  10,000  dol- 
lars a  year  to  enable  us  to  proceed  with  the 
second  to  come  out  in  the  spring  of  1809,  and 
then  our  receipts  will  be  about  20,000  dollars 
a  year. 

Please  to  think  of  this  and  if  you  like  it  to 
try  to  contract  with  the  carpenter  at  Hudson 
for  the  hull  and  let  him  immediately  prepare  his 
timbers,  knees  and  planks — 

She  should  be  almost  wall  sided  if  16   feet 
at  bottom  she  need  not  be  more  than  18  on  deck 
Streight  Sides  will  be  strong  it  fits  the  mill  work 
and  prevents  motion  in  the  waves — thus 
[drawing  omitted] 

It  is  now  time  to  lay  her  up  for  the  winter. 
Nothing  should  be  risqued  from  bad  weather  — 
the  gain  will  be  triffling  the  risque  great. 

I  cannot  be  with  you  before  the  first  week 
of  January 

"Compliments  to  all  friends  write  me  again 

Yours  truly 

R  Fulton 

264, 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Do  not  risque  the  engine  in  the  winds  and 
waves  of  this  season. 


It  should  be  noted  that  Fulton  realized 
the  revolutionizing  possibilities  of  steam- 
navigation,  and  in  this  connection,  at  the 
close  of  the  record  of  the  Clermont's  suc- 
cess, it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  tell  of 
an  incident  which  indicates  that  Fulton 
also  contemplated  the  possibility  of  steam- 
railways.  On  one  occasion,  about  a  year 
1810-11,  Fulton  was  journeying  to 
Washington  by  stage  coach  with  a  party 
of  fellow  passengers.  A  long  delay  in 
changing  horses  at  one  of  the  wayside  tav- 
erns, en  route,  prompted  a  lady  in  the 
party  to  say  to  the  inventor : 

"Oh,  Mr.  Fulton,  you  have  invented  a 
way  to  travel  quickly  over  the  water — 
why  can  you  not  invent  a  way  to  carry  us 
quickly  over  the  land?" 
^  265 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Fulton  bowed  low,  and  said,  "Madam, 
it  will  come." 

It  seems  to  have  been  about  this  time 
that  he  wrote  to  Chancellor  Livingston 
outlining  a  project  for  steam-railways. 
The  Chancellor's  reply  has  been  pre- 
served, and  is  herewith  given.  He  thought 
the  plan  impracticable  and  Fulton,  in  the 
evident  impossibility  of  interesting  his 
partner  for  the  steamboat  enterprise  in 
this  new  undertaking,  temporarily  gave 
up  the  plan. 


Albany,  N.  Y.  March  1,  1811 
Dear  Sir: 

I  did  not  till  yesterday  receive  yours  of  the 
25tli  of  February,  where  it  has  loitered  on  the 
road  I  am  at  a  loss  to  say.  I  had  before  read 
of  your  very  ingenious  proposition  as  to  the 
railway  communication.  I  fear  however,  on 
mature  reflection,  that  they  will  be  liable  to 
serious  objections,  and  ultimately  more  expen- 

266 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

sive  than  a  canal.  They  must  be  double,  so  as 
to  prevent  the  danger  of  two  such  bodies  meet- 
ing. 

The  walls  on  which  they  are  placed  must 
be  at  least  four  feet  below  the  surface,  and  three 
above,  and  must  be  clamped  with  iron,  and  even 
then  would  hardly  sustain  so  heavy  a  weight 
as  you  propose  moving  at  the  rate  of  four 
miles  an  hour  on  wheels.  As  to  wood  it  would 
not  last  a  week.  They  must  be  covered  with 
iron  and  that  too,  very  thick  and  strong. 

The  means  of  stopping  these  heavy  car- 
riages without  a  great  shock  and  of  preventing 
them  from  running  on  each  other — for  they 
would  be  many  on  the  road  at  once,  would  be 
very  difficult.  In  case  of  accidental  stops,  or 
necessary  stops  to  take  on  wood  and  water,  etc. 
many  accidents  would  happen. 

The  carriage  of  condensing  water  would  be 
very  troublesome.  Upon  the  whole,  I  fear  the 
expense  would  be  much  greater  than  that  of 
canals,  without  being  so  convenient. 

R.  R.  Livingston. 
To  Robert  Fulton,  Esq. 

267 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Mr.  Paul  A.  Sabbaton,  in  the  letter 
already  quoted  from  (p.  217) ,  relates  that 
Fulton  and  Golden  had  agreed  to  go  to 
Richmond,  Virginia,  to  build  a  railway  to 
transport  coal  from  Captain  Heath's 
mines,  twelve  miles  distant,  but  that  Ful- 
ton's death  put  an  end  to  the  project.  He 
added,  "Had  it  been  otherwise,  he  would 
have  been  the  first  to  put  railways  in  use 
here." 

ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  CLERMONT 

During  the  winter  of  1807,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  Clermont  was  virtually  rebuilt 
and  enlarged  to  accommodate  the  in- 
creased number  of  patrons.  As  the  North 
River  she  made  regular  trips  on  the  Hud- 
son for  several  years. 

An  interesting  letter  from  Robert  Ful- 
ton  to   Charles   Wilson   Peale   refers   in 
1808  to  the  enlarged  boat. 
268 


n 


► 


(a 
I 


'^ 


PC*     R.u,^    Sii-i-mAai^. 


THE  STEAM-BOAT, 


For  the  Information  of  the  J^ublic^ 


T4"  STEAM-BOAT   will  leave  New- 
YoBE  Tor   Albant  every  Saturday  af« 
ternj'in,  exactly  3t  5  o*ctock — and  will  pais 
Wcsi    Poinl    about    2    o'clock  on  Sunday 
Newbiirph,  6  do.  [morning, 

Poughltcepaie,      10  do. 
Xsopus,  1  in  the  afternoon, 

Rcdhnok,  S  do. 

Catskil),  6  do. 

Hudson,  8  in  the  evening. 

She  will  leave  Aldavy  for  Nhw-York,  every 
Wednesday  morninp,  exactly  at  8  o'clock,  and 
pass    Hudson    about   3  in  the  aflcmoon, 
Esopiis.  8  in  the  evening, 

Pnuchkeepsie,     12  at  uight, 
Newburgh,  4  Thursday  morning, 

AVest  Point,  7  do. 

As  the  time  at  which  the  Boat  mtiy  arrive 
at  the  different  places  above-mentioned  may 
Vary  an  hour  more  or  less  according  to  the  ad- 
vantage or  disadvantage  of  wind  and  tide, 
those  who  wish  to  come  on  board  will  see  the 
necessity  of  being  on  the  spot  an  hour  before 
the  lime.  Persons  wishing  to  come  on  board 
from  any  other  landing  than  here  specified, 
can  calculate  the  time  the  Boat  will  pass,  and 
be  ready  on  their  arrival.  Inn-keepersor  boat- 
men, who  bring  passengers  on  board,  or  take 
them  ashore,  from  any  part  of  the  river,  wlU 
be  allowed  one  shilling  for  each  person. 
Price*  of  fiassase—from  Uevt-  York, 
To  West  Point,  S3 

Newbur(»h.  3  25 

PouKlikeepsie,  4 

Esnpns,  4  25 

"Bedhoofc,  4  50 

Hudson,  5 

Albany,  7 

From  jilbaniff 
To  Hudson,  2 

Redhnok,  3 

Esnpus,  3  SO- 

PouRhkeepsie,  4 

Newburgh  and  West  Point,       4  50 
New-Yoik.  7 

All  other  way  passengers  are  to  pay  at  the 
rate  of  one  dollar  for  every  twenty  miles,  and 
iialf  a  dollar  for  every  meal  they  think  proper 
to  have. 

No  one  can  be  taken  on  board  and  put  on 
.«hore,  however  short  the  distance,  fur  less 
thnn  2  dollars. 

Young  persons  from  2  to  10  years  of  age  to 
■pfcy  half  price,  or  two  thirds,  if  he  or  she  sit  at 
table  with  the  company.  - 

Children  under  the  a^e  of  2  y«an  to  pay 
ene  fourth  price. 

Servants  who  pay  two  thirds  price  are  en- 
titled to  a  birth ;  they  pay  half  price  if  no  birth. 
Every  person  paying  full  price  is  a1k>wed 
SO  lbs.  of  batjgage  ;  if  less  than  whole  price 
40  lbs.  They  are  to  pay  at  the  rate  of  three 
cents  a  ponnd  for  all  surplus  baggage. 

Any  pcratin  taking  a  birth,  shall  have  no 
light  to  change  it  without  permission  of  the 

A  person  entering  their  name  in  the  book 
■for  a  passage,  shall  pay  half  price  although 


thcT  ahall  decline.  Half  the  price  of  t 
sace  to  be  paid  at  the  time  of  entering,  or  the 
-birth  will  be  conaidered  free  Tor  any  other  tub- 
scribe  r. 

PaMengera  will  biMWwt  >dbt«  they  comn 


on  board; 'dinner  will  be  aerred  op  eraclly« 
2  o'clock;  tea.'with^eaw,  which  is  also  sup. 
per,  at  8  in  the  evening  ;  and'brcakfist  at  9  in 
the  morning :  no  one  baa  a  claim  on  the  atcw- 
ard  for  victuals  at  any  other  boor. 

REGULATIONS, 

rOR    THE  NOETB  niTZR  STEAai-l«A,T. 
The  Tukt  which  are  made  for  order  tad  fleiineri.  in  if« 
mf-d       Judgment  Oitll  b«  te- 


e  the 


propiicty 


pruprirty   of  ftllfljufticr,   ind 


.fenyipdiv 


ipofilion  on  the  puiicor  fee). 


The  Back  Cabin,  of  »2  births,  but  which 
win  accommodate  le  persons,  i»  cxclusivtiy 
for  the  Ladies  an5  their  children.  They  who 
first  apply  and- enter  their  names  on  the  book, 
and  at  the  same  time  pay  their  passage-mo- 
ney, shall  have  the  choice  of  ISbirlhs,  Any 
greater  number  of  persona  will  be  accommo- 
dated ivith  sophos  or  cross  lofckcra. 

The  Great  Cabin,  of  24  births,  ^vbich  will 
accommodate  35  pefaons,  ia  for  Gentlemen. 
The  first  who  apply  and  enter  their  narties  in 
the  book,  at  the  same  time  paying  their  pas- 
aagc-moncy,  wjll  have  thdr  choice  of  the  24 
births.  Any  greater  number  of  persona  wiH 
be  accommodated  with  sophaa. 

The  Fore  Cabio.of  16  bJrttw,  will  ascom- 
niodate  24  persons.  The  first  who  apply,  on 
entering^heir  namesand  payingtneir  passage- 
money,  will  have  the  choice  of  the  births.  A- 
ny  greater  number  Of  persons  vrill  be  accom- 
modated with  aophas. 

Way-PaEsengers,  who  are  not  out  for  rnore 
than  half  the  nighi,  are  not  entitled  to  lie  dowa 
in  s  birth. 

A»  the  comfort  t^all  persons  must  be  coO- 
sidet«d,  cleanlinebi,  neatness,  and  order- ara 
neceaaary  ;  it  ia  ihcrefi.rc  not  permitted  that 
any  person  shall  snnoke  in  the  J«.ll«*  cabio^ 
or  in  the  great  cabin,  under  a  penalty,  firatof 
one  dollar  and  an  hal/,  and  haHTadoIfer  for 
each  hair  hRUT  the^-  offend  again*!  thi«  rule  j 
the  money  to  be  spent  in  wJoc  for  Iho  cCtb- 
pany. 

It  is  net  permitted  for  anyperaon  to  lie 
down  ih  a  birth  with  their  boots  or  shoes  on, 
under  a  penalty  of  one  dnMar  and  a  half,  and 
half  a  dollar  for  ever;-  hidf  hour  they  may  of- 
tcndagainsi  this  rule. 

A  shelf  has  bptro  added  to  each  bitt^'on 
which  gentlemen  will  please  to  pwt  their  boots^ 
shoes,  and  dothee,  that  the  cabin  may  t)ot  be 
incumbered. 

On  deck  and  in  the  fore  «3bin  iris  allowed 

In  the  ladies'  cabin -and  in  the  great  cabitiv 
cards  and  all  games  are  to  cease  at  tO  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  tlvat  those  persons  who  wiali 
to  sleep  might  not  be  disturbed. 

As  the  Steam-Boat  has  been  Bttcd  up  in  iik 
elegant  style,  order  ia  necessary.tokecp  it  to; 
gonilemcn  will  therefore  please  to  observe 
cleanliness,  and  a  reasonable  attention  not  to 
injure  the  furniture;  for  this  purpose  no  one 
must  sit  on  a  table  under  thepenaliy  of  half* 
dollar  for  each  time,  and  every  breakage  of 
tables,  chairs,  sophas.  or  windows,  tcat»ogo  £ 
curtains,  or  injury  of  any  kind,  muu  be  paid 
for  before  leaving  the  Boat. 


A:N^D  the  "CLERMONT" 

^'Clermont,  State  of  New  York, 

June  the  11,  1808. 
"My  steam  boat  is  now  in  complete 
operation  and  works  much  to  my  satisfac- 
tion, making  the  voyages  from  or  to  New 
York  or  Albany,  160  miles,  on  an  average 
in  35  hours.  She  has  three  excellent 
Cabins,  or  rather  rooms,  containing  54 
births,  with  kitchen,  larder,  pantry.  Bar, 
and  steward's  room.  Passengers  have 
been  encourageing.  Last  Saturday  she 
started  from  New  York  with  70,  which  is 
doing  very  well  for  these  times  when  trade 
has  not  its  usual  activity."* 

PASSENGER  REGULATIONS  ON  THE 
NORTH  RIVER  (THE  REMODELED  CLERMONT) 

The  following  time-schedule  and  list  of 
regulations  for  passengers  is  taken  from 
Captain  Samuel  Wiswall's  book,  in  pos- 
session of  John  Henry  Livingston,  Esq., 
of  Clermont. 

^Letter  in  possession  of  C.  H.  Hart,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia. 

269 


ROBERT  FULTON 

THE  STEAM  BOAT. 

For  the  Inforination  of  the  Public. 

THE  STEAM  BOAT  will  leave  New 
York  for  Albany  every  Saturday  after. 
noon  exactly  at  5  o'clock  —  and  will  pass 
West  Point  about  3  o'clock  on  Sunday 
Newburgh         **      6  do  [morning. 

Poughkeepsie   **    10  do 
Esopus  "      I  in  the  afternoon. 

Redhook  3  do 

Catskill  6  do 

Hudson  8  in  the  evening. 

She  will  leave  Albany  for  New  York 
every  Wednesday  morning  exactly  at  8 
o'clock,  and  pass  Hudson  about  3  in 
the  afternoon. 

Esopus  8  in  the  evening. 

Poughkeepsie  i  2  at  night. 
Newburgh  4  Thursday  morning. 

West  Point         7  do 
270 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

As  the  time  at  which  the  Boat  may- 
arrive  at  the  different  places  above-men- 
tioned may  vary  an  hour  more  or  less 
according  to  the  advantage  or  disadvan- 
tage of  wind  and  tide,  those  who  wish 
to  come  on  board  will  see  the  necessity 
of  being  on  the  spot  an  hour  before  the 
time.  Persons  wishing  to  come  on 
board  from  any  other  landing  than  here 
specified,  can  calculate  the  time  the 
Boat  will  pass,  and  be  ready  on  their 
arrival.  Inn-keepers  or  boatmen,  who 
bring  passengers  on  board,  or  take  them 
ashore,  from  any  part  of  the  river,  will 
be  allowed  one  shilling  for  each  person. 

Prices  of  passage — -from  New  York. 

To  West  Point  $3 

Newburgh  3.25 

Poughkeepsie  4 

Esopus  4-2  5 
271 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Redhook 

4.50 

Hudson 

5.00 

Albany 

7.00 

From  Albany. 

To  Hudson 

2 

Redhook 

3 

Esopus 

Poughkeepsie 

Newburgh  and  West  Point 

New  York 

3-50 

4 
4.50 

7 

All  other  passengers  are  to  pay  at  the 
rate  of  one  dollar  for  every  twenty 
miles,  and  half  a  dollar  for  every  meal 
they  think  proper  to  have. 

No  one  can  be  taken  on  board,  and 
put  on  shore,  however  short  the  dis- 
tance, for  less  than  2  dollars. 

Young  persons  from  2  to  i  o  years  of 
age  to  pay  half  price,  or  two-thirds,  if 
he  or  she  sit  at  table  with  the  company. 
272 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Children  under  the  age  of  2  years  to 
pay  one  fourth  price. 

Servants  who  pay  two  thirds  price 
are  entitled  to  a  birth;  they  pay  half 
price  if  no  birth. 

Every  person  paying  full  price  is  al- 
lowed 60  lbs.  of  baggage ;  if  less  than 
whole  price  40  lbs.  They  are  to  pay  at 
the  rate  of  three  cents  a  pound  for  all 
surplus  baggage. 

Any  person  taking  a  birth,  shall  have 
no  right  to  change  it  without  permis- 
sion of  the  captain. 

A  person  entering  their  name  in  the 
book  for  a  passage,  shall  pay  half  price 
although  they  shall  decline.  Half  the 
price  of  the  passage  to  be  paid  at  the 
time  of  entering,  or  the  birth  will  be 
considered  free  for  any  other  subscriber. 

Passengers  will  breakfast  before  they 
come  on  board;  dinner  will  be  served  up 
273 


ROBERT  FULTON 

exactly  at  2  o'clock ;  tea,  with  meats, 
which  is  also  supper,  at  8  in  the  eve- 
ning ;  and  breakfast  at  9  in  the  morning: 
no  one  has  a  claim  on  the  steward  for 
victuals  at  any  other  hour. 

REGULATIONS/ 

FOR   THE    NORTH  RIVER   STEAM    BOAT. 

The  rules  which  are  made  for  order  and  neat- 
ness in  the  boat,  are  not  to  be  abused. 
Judgment  shall  be  according  to  the  letter 
of  the  law.  Gentlemen  wishing  well  to  so 
public  and  useful  an  establishment,  will 
see  the  propriety  of  strict  justice,  and  the 
impropriety  of  the  least  imposition  on  the 
purse  or  feelings  of  any  individual. 

The  Back  Cabin,  of  1 2  births,  but 
which  will  accommodate  i  8  persons,  is 
exclusively  for  the  Ladies  and  their 
children.      They   who    iirst    apply    and 

^  Here  for  the  first  time  published. 

274 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

enter  their  names  on  the  book,  and  at 
the  same  time  pay  their  passage-money, 
shall  have  the  choice  of  i  2  births.  Any 
greater  number  of  persons  will  be  ac- 
commodated with  sophas  or  cross 
lockers. 

The  Great  Cabin  of  24  births,  which 
will  accommodate  36  persons,  is  for 
Gentlemen.  The  first  who  apply  and 
enter  their  names  in  the  book,  at  the 
same  time  paying  their  passage-money, 
will  have  their  choice  of  the  24  births. 
Any  greater  number  of  persons  will  be 
accommodated  with  sophas. 

The  Fore  Cabin,  of  16  births,  will 
accommodate  24  persons.  The  first 
who  apply,  on  entering  their  names  and 
paying  their  passage-money,  will  have 
the  choice  of  the  births.  Any  greater 
number  of  persons  will  be  accommo- 
dated with  sophas. 

275 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Way-Passengers,  who  are  not  out  for 
more  than  half  the  night,  are  not  en- 
titled to  lie  down  in  a  birth. 

As  the  comfort  of  all  persons  must  be 
considered,  cleanliness,  neatness,  and 
order  are  necessary ;  it  is  therefore  not 
permitted  that  any  person  shall  smoke  in 
the  ladies'  cabin,  or  in  the  great  cabin, 
under  a  penalty,  first  of  one  dollar  and 
a  half,  and  half  a  dollar  for  each  half 
hour  they  offend  against  this  rule  ;  the 
money  to  be  spent  in  wine  for  the  com- 
pany. 

It  is  not  permitted  for  any  person  to 
lie  down  in  a  birth  with  their  boots  or 
shoes  on,  under  a  penalty  of  one  dollar 
and  a  half,  and  half  a  dollar  for  every 
half  hour  they  may  offend  against  this 
rule. 

A  shelf  has  been  added  to  each  birth, 
on  which  gentlemen  will  please  to  put 
276 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

their  boots,  shoes,  and  clothes,  that  the 
cabin  may  not  be  incumbered. 

On  deck  and  in  the  fore  cabin  it  is 
allowed  to  smoke. 

In  the  ladies'  cabin  and  in  the  great 
cabin,  cards  and  all  games  are  to  cease 
at  lo  o'clock  in  the  evening,  that  those 
persons  who  wish  to  sleep  might  not  be 
disturbed. 

As  the  Steam-Boat  has  been  fitted  up 
in  an  elegant  style,  order  is  necessary  to 
keep  it  so:  gentlemen  will  therefore 
please  to  observe  cleanliness,  and  a  rea- 
sonable attention  not  to  injure  the  fur- 
niture ;  for  this  purpose  no  one  must 
sit  on  a  table  under  the  penalty  of  half 
a  dollar  for  each  time,  and  every  break- 
age of  tables,  chairs,  sophas,  or  win- 
dows, tearing  of  curtains,  or  injury  of 
any  kind,  must  be  paid  for  before  leav- 
ing the  Boat. 

277 


ROBERT  FULTON 

SOME   PASSENGERS  ON   THE  EARLY   TRIPS 

The  captain's  passenger  list^  for  the  North 
River  Steamboat  showing  the  individual 
bookings  for  the  48th  trip  of  the  boat, 
September  20th,  1809,  to  May  5th,  1810, 
inclusive,  presents  the  complete  record  for 
eighty-four  trips.  The  names  seem  an  old- 
time  roll-call  of  the  prominent  families  of 
the  Hudson  River.  A  partial  list  of  the 
passengers  will  be  of  interest; 

H.  W.  Livingston,  Lady  &  Daughter 

Mrs.  Lawrence 

Mr.  Moncll 

Gov.  Lewis  &  Lady  &  blk.  girl 

Mr.  Tillotson 

C.  D.  Colden  &  Lady 

Mr,  Jay 

Mr.  PV.  Ronsalaer  &  Lady 

Judge  RadclifFe 

Mrs.  Mynderse  &  Miss  Teller 

^n  possession  of  John  Henry  Livingston,  Esq.,  of  Cler- 
mont. 

278 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Miss  Cruger 

Mr.  Schenck 

Mr.  V.  Schoonhoven  &  Lady 

Captain  Bogert  &  Daughter 

Mrs.  Van  Kleeck  &  Son 

Miss  Ludlow  &  Girl 

Montgomery  Livingston 

J.  J.  Coddington 

Miss  Duane  &  Miss  Van  Kleeck 

Mrs.  Yates  [who  carried  461  lbs.  of  baggage] 

Nicholas  Roosevelt 

Mr.  Peter  Schuyler 

General  Gansevoort  &  Daughter  &  Lady  & 

Servant 
Capt'n  Fipher  &  Lady 
J.  Alden 

Mr.  Cuyler,  Lady  &  Ser't 
Thos.  Ludlow 
Walter  Livingston 
Alden  Danforth 
Mrs.  Pendleton 
Mr.  Van  Tassell 
Miss  Stats 
Mr.  Ten  Eyck 
D.  Romeyn  Beach 
Guy  Catlin 

279 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Mr.  McVicker 

Mr.  Averill 

E.  P.  Livingston  8i  Family 

Mr.  Lee  Avery 

Mr.  Buel 

Mr.  Daniel  Potter 

Mr.  Van  Ness 

Doct.  Bard 

Mrs.  Schenck  &  Child 

Mrs.  Varrick 

D.  McComb 

Mr.  Morris 

John  Stevens 

D.  Hossack 

Mr.  Emmet 

John  Pintard 

T.  P.  Grosvenor 

Mr.  Ruggles 

G.  E.  Verplanck 

Mr.  Proudfoot,  Lady  &  Child 

Mr.  Pawlding  & 

Mr.  Irving 

P.  V.  HofFman 

Doctor  Forsyth 

Mr.  Boyd 

Martin  Radcliffe 

280 


16 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Mr.  Burr 

Mr.  Duer  &  Family 

Mr.  Huntington 

Alanson  Gary 

Mr.  Bayard 

Mr.  Beekman  &  Lady 

Mr.  Cutting 

Mr.  Van  Wyck 

Mr.  Pomeroy 

Mrs.  Livingston  & 

Mrs.  Van  Kleeck 

N.  Bleecker 

S.  Van  Rensalaer  &  Ser't 

Matthew  Vassar 

Mrs.  Content  Ferguson 

William  Hudson 

Mr.  Kissam  &  Lady 

W.  Edgar  Jr.  & 

T.  Leroy 

J.  C.  Goldbag 

Charles  Joy 

Mr.  Newbould  &;  Lady 

Wm.  Fish 

Mr.  Brevort  &  Ser't 

Mr.  Beekman 

L.  Stundish 

281 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Mr.  Satterlee 
Mr.  Delavan 
Mr.  Bjam 
Mr.  Sanford 
Capt.  Chancy 
H.  R.  Teller 
Col.  Troop 
Mr.  Pell 
C.  Guernsey 
Isaac  Montague 

More  light  on  the  financial  side  of  the 
enterprise  is  furnished  by  the  following 
page  in  Fulton's  handwriting,  now  in  pos- 
session of  J.  R.  Leamont,  Esq.,  of  Mont- 
real, here  published  for  the  first  time.  By 
"the  new  boat"  is  probably  meant  the 
Rariton,  Fulton's  second  American  steam- 
boat, which  ran  from  New  York  to  New 
Brunswick,  New  Jersey;  or  The  Car  of 
Neptune  for  additional  service  on  the 
Hudson  River,  a  companion  for  the  North 
River.  Both  boats  were  built  in  1808. 
282 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

1808        DISBURSEMENTS  BY  ROBT   FULTON        D        C 

June  25  To  Mr.  Cheetham  for 

printing 25  75 

Dec.  22  For  copying  the  writing  of 

the  patent 15  00 

1809 

Jan.  22  For  the  patent 30  00 

Feb.      1   To  Mr.  MiUigan  for  binding 

the   patent 8  00 

"         4  A  Mahogany  box  to  contain 

the   patent 3  00 

Mch.    4  To  Mandivil  the  pilot  of  the 

N.  R.  boat 7  00 

"  13  To  Capt.  WisneU  a  Cheque  .  150  00 
"  23  Mr.  Stowdenger  a  Cheque  .  120  00 
Apr.  8  Mr.  Cheetham  for  printing  .  14  56 
"  22  To  Bachelar  the  Blacksmith  50  00 
"      20  To  Mr.  Clogson  Attorney  at 

law 20  00 

"      24  Mr.  Jenkel  for  insurance 

against  fire — one  year  .      .      150  00 

598  31 
283 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Carried  forward    ....     598  31 

FOR   THE   NEW   BOAT 

June  9  To  Mr.  Revere  for  Copper  .  4259  00 
To  Do       "    Copper 

Rivets 195  40 

To  Mr.  Smallman  for  the 

steam  engine  ....  2450  00 
To  Mr.  Brownne  for  the  Boat  5000  00 
To  Bennct  the  Coppersmith 

making  boiler  ....  200  00 
To  Capt.  Roorback  .  .  .  60  00 
To  Mess.  Ogden  and  Hoffman 

for  Writings  ....  25  00 
28  Mr.  Rooseveld  on  Mississippi 

expedition 600  00 

dollars  13377  81 

6688  90 

1809       CASH  RECEIVED  OF  R.  R.  LIVINGSTON,  ESQ. 

March  19 2000 

April     20 1000 

June        1 2000 

5000 
Paid  for  Wood  at  Albany     .     .     .     300 

5300 

284 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

TO    PAY   TO   THE    NEW   BOAT 

To  Mr.  Smallman 900 

To  Mr.  Brownne 3000 

To  Bennet  the  Coppersmith  ....  1000 

To  McQueen  for  Contract  and  Labor  .  3000 

for  Sails,  furniture  and  Sundries    .      .  3000 


10900 
paid—         12779  51 

23679  51 


The  final  whereabouts  of  the  pioneer 
vessel  remains  a  mystery.  It  has  been  as- 
serted that  she  was  finally  transported  as 
The  Henrietta  to  the  Cape  Fear  River, 
North  Carolina,  where  Fulton  himself  as 
early  as  1813  had  suggested  the  formation 
of  a  steam-navigation  company.  An- 
other authority,  INTr.  J.  Seymour  Bullock, 
states  that  the  boat  was  broken  up,  when 
further  important  improvements  rendered 
her  antiquated  shape  and  construction  un- 
equal to  the  increased  traffic  upon  the 
285 


ROBERT  FULTON 

river,  and  that  the  "ribs"  of  the  hull  were 
used  under  the  wharf  in  Jersey  City 
where  the  Secor  Foundry  built  monitors 
during  the  Civil  War. 

A  third  statement  that  the  boat  was  sunk 
off  Poughkeepsie,  is  of  doubtful  authen- 
ticity. Fulton,  with  his  usual  thrift,  prob- 
ably incorporated  the  useful  parts  of  the 
Clermont  in  a  boat  of  later  construction. 

Fulton's  own  definition  of  his  priority 
in  the  invention  of  the  steamboat  is  con- 
tained in  an  interesting  paper,  now  in  pos- 
session of  Judge  Peter  T.  Barlow.  In  a 
letter  to  Joel  Barlow  the  inventor  asks 
him  to  obtain  the  signature  of  William 
Thornton,  Clerk  of  the  Patent  Office,  to  a 
deposition,  and  writes  in  part : 

New  York,  June  28th,  1811. 
Dear  Barlow: 

"My  whole  time  is  now  occupied  in  building 
North  River  and  Steam  ferry  boats,  and  in  an 
interesting  lawsuit  to  crush  22  Pirates  who  have 

286 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

clubbed  their  purses  and  copied  my  boats  and 
have  actually  started  my  own  Invention  in  op- 
position to  me  by  running  one  trip  to  Albany: 
her  machinery  however  gave  way  in  the  first 
voyage  and  she  is  now  repairing,  which  will 
detain  her  I  presume  until  we  obtain  an  Injunc- 
tion^ to  stop  her.  A  more  infamous  and  out- 
rageous attack  upon  mental  property  has  not 
disgraced  America.  Thornton  has  been  one  of 
the  great  causes  of  it.  In  this  interesting  suit 
which  places  a  great  fortune  at  stake  I  want 
you  to  do  two  things  for  me  immediately. 
First  go  or  send  Lee  to  Thornton's  office  and 
demand  a  certified  copy  of  my  transfer  of  one 
half  of  my  United  States  patents  to  Robert 
R.  Livingston  and  let  the  certificate  state  that 
such  transfer  is  legally  registered  in  the  patent 
office, — it  may  be  certified  by  a  Notary  Public.^ 

The  absorbing  demands  of  the  Cler- 
mont deterred  Fulton  from  undertaking 
other     important     projects.       President 

1  This  injunction  was  obtained,  and  the  Albany  boats 
were  confiscated. 

-  For  the  full  text  of  this  highly  interesting  document, 
see  Appendix,  pages  350-353. 

287 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Jefferson,  who  had  been  interested  in 
Fulton's  treatise  on  Canal  Navigation,  and 
who  had  enjoyed  a  correspondence  with 
him  on  this  and  kindred  subjects,  pro- 
posed at  this  time  that  he  should  examine 
the  ground  and  report  on  a  canal  to  unite 
the  Mississippi  River  with  Lake  Pont- 
chartrain.  In  his  reply  to  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Fulton  speaks  specifically  not 
only  of  the  building  of  the  Clermont  but 
also  of  the  Torpedo  project  which  he  had 
already  offered  to  the  American  nation. 
This  letter,  in  possession  of  the  estate  of 
Cornelia  Livingston  Crary,  Fulton's 
daughter,  has  never  before  been  published. 
An  extract  is  here  given : 

Philadelphia,  March  20th,  1807. 

To  General  Dearborn,  Secretary  of  War, — 
Dear  Sir: 

I  am  infinitely  obliged  by  the  proposal  of 
the  President  that  I  should  examine  the  ground 

288 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

and  report  on  a  canal  to  unite  the  waters  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Lake  Pontchartrain,  And  am 
sorry  I  cannot  undertake  a  work  so  interesting 
and  honourable.  The  reason  is  I  have  now  Ship 
Builders,  Blacksmiths  and  Carpenters  occupied 
at  New  York  in  building  and  executing  the  ma- 
chinery of  my  Steam  Boat,  And  I  must  return 
to  that  City  in  ten  days  to  direct  the  work  till 
finished,  which  probably  will  require  4  months. 
This  enterprise  is  of  much  Importance  to  me 
individually  and  I  hope  will  be  of  great  use  in 
facilitating  the  navigation  of  some  of  our  long 
rivers.  Like  every  enthusiast  I  have  no  doubt 
of  success.  I  therefore  work  with  ardor,  and 
when  adjusting  the  parts  of  the  machine,  I 
cannot  leave  the  men  for  a  day.  I  am  also  pre- 
paring the  engines  for  the  experiment  of  blow- 
ing up  a  Vessel  in  the  harbour  of  New  York 
this  Spring.  The  machines  for  this  purpose 
are  in  great  forwardness  and  I  hope  to  convince 
the  rational  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  our 
cities,  that  vessels  of  War  shall  never  enter 
our  harbours  or  approach  our  Coasts  but  by 
our  consent.  Thus  I  hope  I  am  usefully  em- 
ployed for  6  or  9  months — 

Yours  truly, 

RoBT.  Fulton. 

289 


ROBERT  FULTON 

Three  days  earlier,  Joel  Barlow,  who 
was  always  in  Fulton's  confidence,  wrote 
to  his  wife : 

The  President  wants  Toot  [Fulton]  to  go 
immediately  to  New  Orleans  to  survey  the 
ground  for  a  great  canal  there.  Mrs.  Dear- 
born says  her  home  is  high,  airy  and  healthy, 
that  you  must  come  on  with  Fulton  as  far  as 
here  in  the  little  phaeton  &  pass  the  summer 
with  her,  either  here  or  jaunting  a  little  about 
in  these  regions.  Fulton,  they  say,  is  to  be 
back  in  July,  and  then  if  it  is  thought  best  to 
go  north,  it  can  be  done,  as  he  may  then  be 
going  to  operate  in  N.  York.  All  this  is  only 
thrown  out  to  think  on. 

He  adds  this  postscript  to  Fulton : 

Toot,  don't  give  an  answer  to  Gen'l.  Dear- 
born's letter  of  yesterday  till  I  come.  He  does 
not  expect  it  till  then. 

One    hundred    years    has    but    served 
to    emphasize   the   wisdom   of   "Fulton's 
290 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

Folly."  Before  the  death  of  the  inventor 
in  1815,  eight  years  after  the  Clermont 
steamed  up  the  Hudson,  he  had  built  no 
fewer  than  seventeen  boats,  which  list  in- 
cludes the  first  steam  war  frigate,  the 
torpedo  boat,  and  the  first  steam  ferry- 
boats, the  latter  equipped  with  rounded 
ends  for  approach  at  either  shore  and 
floating  docks  to  receive  them. 


FULTON  S  PLANS  FOR  STEAM  NAVIGATION 
UPON  FOREIGN  WATERS 

Energetic  to  the  last  degree  of  activity, 
Fulton  not  only  introduced  steam  naviga- 
tion upon  the  chief  rivers  of  America  but 
also  contemplated  its  introduction  upon 
foreign  rivers. 

A  letter  at  the  Lenox  Library,  in  the 
Thomas  Addis  Emmet  collection,  shows 
that  in  1812  Fulton  signed  a  joint  con- 
293 


ROBERT  FULTON 

tract  with  a  certain  Thomas  Lane  to  in- 
troduce steamboats  in  India.    He  writes: 

I  agree  to  make  the  Ganges  a  joint  con- 
cern— the  work  is  so  honorable  and  impor- 
tant. It  is  so  grand  an  Idea  that  America 
should  establish  steam  vessels  to  work  in  India 
that  it  requires  vigor  activity,  exertion,  indus- 
try, attention  and  no  time  should  be  lost.  My 
Paragon^  beats  everything  on  this  globe,  for 
made  as  you  and  I  are,  we  cannot  tell  what 
is  in  the  moon — this  Day  she  came  on  from 
Albany  160  miles  in  26  hours,  wind  ahead. 

Four  days  earlier,  Fulton  wrote  another 
letter  to  Chevalier  Svinie  (Swinine),  a 
Russian  gentleman,  then  staying  in  Wey- 
mouth Street,  London.  The  letter  for- 
warded by  J.  Eliot  Hodgkin  of  London, 
in  response  to  the  author's  inquiry  in 
"Notes  and  Queries,"  is  here  printed  for 
the  first  time. 

^Fulton's  boat  built  in  1811  for  service  on  the  Hudson. 

294 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

New  York,  April  12,  1812. 
Chevalier  Svinie, 
Sir; 

Being  inventor  of  the  Steam  Boats  having  a 
claim  on  every  Government  for  the  use  of  my  in- 
vention much  superior  to  that  of  any  other  in- 
dividual, and  relying  on  the  respect  which  the 
Government  of  Russia  have  for  the  arts,  I  wrote 
to  Mr.  Adams  ^  in  November  last  to  obtain  for 
me  an  exclusive  right  for  20  years  on  condition 
that  I  should  cause  a  steam-boat  to  be  estab- 
lished from  Petersburgh  to  Cronstadt  in  three 
years  after  obtaining 'the  Grant,  the  considera- 
tions proposed  to  Mr.  Adams  render  it  neces- 
sary for  me  to  wait  his  answer;  But  should  he 
neglect  or  not  obtain  the  grant,  and  it  should 
be  given  to  another.  It  will  then  be  time  enough 
to  talk  of  the  terms  on  which  I  would  go  into  the 
enterprise,  on  which  it  is  impossible  for  me  at 
present  to  make  up  my  mind.      I  am 

Sir  Respectfully  your  most  obedient, 

Robert  Fulton. 

^  John  Quincy  Adams,  American  Ambassador  to  Russia, 
1809-1814. 

295 


ROBERT  FULTON 

A  second  letter  upon  this  proposition  is 
extant  from  the  Chevaher.  It  is  among 
Fulton's  family  papers  in  possession 
of  the  estate  of  his  daughter,  Cornelia 
Livingston  Crary.  M.  Swinine  says  in 
part: 

"Doubtless  Sir,  it  is  known  to  you,  that 
for  several  months  past  I  have  been  taken 
up  with  your  admirable  invention  of  the 
steam  boat,  dedicating  all  my  knowledge 
for  its  introduction  in  Russia.  As  you 
have  received  the  Imperial  permission  for 
this  introduction,  I  offer  you.  Sir,  my  ser- 
vices, which  I  flatter  myself  may  be  of 
great  utility.  Certainly  it  will  be  neces- 
sary for  you  to  have  the  plan  of  the  River 
Neva  and  of  the  channel  from  St.  Peters- 
bourg  to  Cronstadt,  to  have  the  clearest 
information  of  the  value  of  materials  nec- 
essary for  the  construction  of  the  steam 
296 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

boat,  the  description  of  other  communica- 
tions by  water  in  Russia  etc.  I  hope  to 
give  you  all  that  and  whatever  else  may 
be  requisite  for  you  in  the  most  agreeable 
way,  as  none  but  myself  can  satisfy  you. 

"My  demands  are  limited  to  the  two 
following  agreements : 

1st  That  your  Company  honour  me 
with  the  title  of  Superintendent  of  the 
Steamboats  of  Russia. 

2nd:  That  it  will  grant  me  on  my  ar- 
rival in  Russia  an  annual  salary  as  may 
seem  most  just."  [etc.] 

At  the  time  of  Fulton's  death  the  steam- 
boat The  Emperor  of  Russia  was  in  pro- 
cess of  building,  and  in  accordance  with 
contract  was  to  be  transferred  to  Russian 
waters  before  December  1st.  The  enter- 
prise was  postponed,  and  was  subse- 
quently taken  up  by  other  contractors. 
297 


ROBERT  FULTON 

"Robert  Fulton  is  going  to  be  a  great 
man  this  year!"  observed  a  casual  ap- 
praiser. 

"Sir,"  he  was  answered,  "Robert  Ful- 
ton was  a  great  man  one  hundred  years 
ago,  or  the  justice  of  an  American  nation 
would  not,  at  the  end  of  a  century,  recall 
his  life  with  gratitude." 

With  the  recognition  of  Robert  Ful- 
ton's chief  invention,  it  should  be  kept  in 
mind  that  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
largest  problems  of  humanity.  He  was  not 
only  an  inventor,  he  was  also  a  reformer,  a 
statesman,  and  a  patriot.  With  splendid 
courage  born  of  conviction,  he  enriched 
the  world  by  original  products  which  he 
was  pleased  to  term  "useful  arts"  and 
sometimes  "mental  property."  To  for- 
ward his  plans  he  gave  in  unstinted  meas- 
ure,—his  time,  his  talents,  his  wealth.  It 
is  characteristic  that  in  his  writings  he 
298 


AND  THE  "CLERMONT" 

capitalized  the  word  "Ideas"  and  spelled 
"money"  with  small  initial.  Thus  as  the 
world  gauges  success, — he  died  poor: 
yet,  as  a  century  translates  that  poverty  it 
becomes  golden  with  the  wealth  of  honor. 


17  299 


APPENDIX 


1 


APPENDIX 


Fulton's  letter  to  watt* 
(Page  42) 

Manchester,  Nov.  4,  1794. 
Messrs.  Boulton  &  Watt, 
Gentlemen: 

I  shall  esteem  it  a  favour  to  be  informed  of 
the  Expences  of  a  Steam  Engine  with  a  Rota- 
tive movement  of  the  purchase  of  3  or  4  horses, 
which  is  designed  to  be  placed  in  a  Boat.  You 
Will  be  so  good  as  to  mention  what'  sized  boat 
it  would  occupy,  as  I  wish  to  have  it  in  as  little 
space  as  Possible,  and  what  you  consive  will  be 
the  Expence  when  finished  Compleat  in  the  Boat. 
Whether  you  have  one  ready  of  the  dimentions 
specified     or  how  soon  one  might  be  finished. 

^In  possession  of  George  Tange,  Esq.,  of  Birmingham. 

303 


APPENDIX 

With  Weight  of  Coals  which  It  will  consume  in 
12  hours,  and  what  Quantity  of  purchase  you 
allow  to  each  horse,  as  I  am  anxious  to  supply 
some  Engines  of  the  above  dimentions  as  soon 
as  Possible.  Your  Emediate  Answer  will  much 
oblige 

Your  Most  obedient  and  very  humble  Servant, 

RoBT.  Fulton. 
Bridgewater  Arms,  Manchester. 


rULTON  S    TREATISE    ON    CANAL    NAVIGATION 
(Page  48) 

A  copy  of  the  "Treatise"  in  the  Lenox  Li- 
brary contains  a  four-page  letter  to  General 
Bonaparte  from  the  author.  In.  his  preface 
Fulton  says : 

The  fear  of  meeting  the  opposition  of  envy, 
or  the  illiberality  of  ignorance  is,  no  doubt,  the 
frequent  cause  of  preventing  many  ingenious 
men  from  ushering  opinions  into  the  world  which 
deviate  from  common  practice.  Hence  for  want 
of  energy,  the  young  idea  is  shackled  with  timid- 
ity and  a  useful  thought  is  buried  in  the  im- 

304) 


APPENDIX 

penetrable  gloom  of  eternal  oblivion.  But  if 
we  consider  for  a  moment,  how  much  men  are 
the  sons  of  habit,  we  shall  find  that  almost  the 
whole  operations  of  society  are  the  produce  of 
accident  and  a  combination  of  events,  rendered 
familiar  by  custom,  and  interwoven  into  the 
senses  by  time:  insomuch  that  it  is  a  mere 
chance  if  the  Ideas  are  awakened  to  a  sense  of 
particular  errors.  But  in  such  case,  it  is  for- 
tunate when  they  arise  in  a  mind  active  to  in- 
vestigate and  which  feels  only  contented  to  rest 
on  the  basis  of  reason :  for  without  this,  man 
must  ever  remain  in  a  fixed  point  and  improve- 
ment will  be  at  an  end:  the  adventurer  must, 
therefore,  arm  himself  with  fortitude  to  meet  the 
attacks  of  illiberality  and  prejudice,  determined 
to  yield  to  nothing  but  superior  reason ;  rest- 
ing assured  that  every  virtuous  mind  will  com- 
mend an  exertion  to  remove  the  rubbish  from 
around  the  Temple  of  Truth,  even  should  the 
undertaking  fail.  .  .  .  The  mechanic  should 
sit  down  among  levers,  screws,  wedges,  wheels, 
etc.,  like  a  poet  among  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet, considering  them  as  the  exhibition  of  his 
thoughts;  in  which  a  new  arrangement  trans- 
mits a  new  idea  to  the  world.      It  is  for  want 

305 


APPENDIX 

of  this  discrimination  that  many  a  worthy  man 
of  easy  demeanor  is  tormented  by  the  criticism 
of  ignorant  insignificance;  for  men  of  the  least 
genius  are  ever  the  first  to  deprecate  and  the 
last  to  commend:  and  for  an  obvious  reason, 
they  have  not  sense  to  know  the  produce  of 
genius  when  they  see  it. 


THE  WASHINGTON  LETTER 
(Page  50) 

The  letter  to  President  Washington,  now  in 
the  possession  of  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  is  reproduced  here  for  the  first 
time. 

London,  Sept.  12*^,  1796. 

To  His  Excellency,  George  Washington, 
President  of  the  United  States : 
Sir  :  By  my  friend  Dr.  Edwards  I  beg  leave 
to  present  you  with  this  publication ;  which  I 
hope  will  be  honoured  with  your  Perusal  at  a 
liesure  hour :  The  object  of  which  is  to  Exhibit 
the  Certain  mode  of  Giving  Agriculture  to  every 
Acre  of  the  immense  Continent  of  America ;  By 
means  of  a  Creative  System  of  Canals. 

306 


APPENDIX 

When  this  Subject  first  entered  my  thoughts, 
I  had  no  Idea  of  its  Consequence.  But  the 
scene  gradually  opened  and  at  Length  exhibited 
the  most  extensive  and  pleasing  prospect  of 
Improvements :  hence,  I  now  consider  it  of  much 
national  Importance;  And  View  it  like  the  ap- 
plication of  those  particular  principles  which 
produce  certain  effects. 

Thus  the  discovery  of  the  Mariner's  Com- 
pass Gave  Commerce  to  the  World. 

The  Invention  of  printing  is  dissipating  dark- 
ness and  giving  a  Polish  to  the  Mass  of  Men. 

And  the  Introduction  of  the  Creative  Sys- 
tem of  Canals  as  certain  in  their  Effects  will 
give  an  Agricultural  Polish  to  every  Acre  of 
America.  I  therefore  Beg  Leave  to  Submit  to 
your  Contemplation  the  Last  Chapter  with  the 
Supplement;  which  exhibits  the  Specific  System 
for  America:  And  hoping  that  your  Excel- 
lencie's  Sanction  will  awaken  the  Public  atten- 
tion to  the  Subject: 

I   Remain   with    all   possible   Respect,   your 

Excellencie's    Most   Obedient   &   Very   Humble 

Servant  „  -r, 

Robert  julton. 


307 


APPENDIX 

Among  the  Washington  papers  in  the  Li- 
brary of  Congress  is  this  reply : 

PJiilad.  14th  Deer  1796. 
Robert  Fulton  Esqr. 
Sir, 

By  the  hands  of  Doct.  Edwards  I  was 
favored  with  your  Treatise  on  the  improvement 
of  Canal  Navigation.  For  your  goodness  in 
sending  it  to  me  I  pray  you  to  accept  my  best 
thanks. 

The  subject  is  interesting  and  I  dare  presume 
is  well  treated,  but  as  the  Book  came  to  me  in 
the  midst  of  busy  preparatory  scenes  for  Con- 
gress I  have  not  had  liesure  yet  to  give  it  the 
perusal  which  the  importance  of  such  a  work 
would  merit.  I  shall  do  it  with  pleasure  I  am 
persuaded  when  I  have. 

With  Esteem  I  am  Sir 
Your  obt  &  Obliged 
&  Hblc  Servt 

G^:  Washington. 


308 


APPENDIX 

Fulton's  exposition  of  his  canal  scheme  set 

FORTH   in   his  LETTER  TO  WASHINGTON 
(Page  66) 

The  following  letter  to  President  Washing- 
ton, written  early  in  the  year  Fulton  went  to 
Paris,  is  in  the  archives  of  the  Congressional 
Library : 

London,  Feby.  5th,  1797. 

Sir:  Last  evening  Mr.  King  presented  me  with 
your  Letter  acquainting  me  of  the  Receipt  of 
my  publication  on  Small  Canals,  which  I  hope 
you  will  Soon  have  time  to  Peruse  in  a  tranquil 
Retirement  from  the  Buisy  operations  of  a  Pub- 
lic Life:  Therefore  Looking  forward  to  that 
period  when  the  whole  force  of  your  Mind  will 
Act  upon  the  Internal  improvement  of  our 
Country,  by  Promoting  Agriculture  and  Manu- 
factures :  I  have  little  doubt  but  easy  Convey- 
ance, the  Great  agent  to  other  improvements 
will  have  its  due  Weight  And  meet  Your  patron- 
age. 

For  the  mode  of  Giving  easy  Communication 
to  every  part  of  the  American  States,  I  beg 
Leave  to  draw  your  Particular  attention  to  the 

809 


APPENDIX 

Last  Chapter  on  Creative  Canals;  And  the  ex- 
panded mind  will  trace  down  the  time  when  they 
will  penetrate  into  every  district  Carrying  with 
them  the  means  of  facilitating  Manuel  Labour 
and  Rendering  it  productive.  But  how  to  Raise 
a  Sum  in  the  different  States,  has  been  my 
Greatest  difficulty.  I  first  Considered  them  as 
national  Works.  But  perhaps  An  Incorporated 
Company  of  Subscribers,  who  Should  be  Bound 
to  apply  half  or  a  part  of  their  profits  to  ex- 
tension would  be  the  best  mode.  As  it  would 
then  be  their  Interest  to  Promote  the  work: 
And  Guard  their  emoluments. 

That  Such  a  Work  would  answer  to  Sub- 
scribers appears  from  Such  Information  as  I 
have  Collected ;  Reletive  to  the  Carriage  from 
the  Neighborhood  of  Lancaster,  to  Phila- 
delphia. To  me  it  appears  that  a  Canal  on 
the  Small  Scale  might  have  been  made  to  Lan- 
caster for  120  thousand  £  and  that  the  Car- 
riage at  20  Shillings  per  ton  would  pay  14 
thousand  per  Annum,  of  which,  7,000  to  Sub- 
scribers and  7,000  to  extension.  By  this 
means  in  about  10  years  they  would  touch 
the  Susquehanna,  and  the  trade  would  then 
so   much   increase    as    to   produce   30,000    per 

310 


APPENDIX 

Annum,  of  Which  15,000  to  Subscribers,  the 
Remainder  to  extension ;  Continuing  thus  till 
in  About  20  Years  the  Canal  would  Run  into 
Lake  Erie,  Yielding  a  produce  of  100,000  per 
annum  or  50  thousand  f  to  Subscribers,  which 
is  40  per  Cent;  hence  the  Inducement  to  Sub- 
scribe to  such  undertakings. 

Proceeding  in  this  manner  I  find  that  in 
about  60  or  70  years  Penselvania  would  have 
9360  Miles  of  Canal,  equal  to  Bringing  Water 
Carriage  within  the  easy  Reach  of  every  house, 
nor  would  any  house  be  more  than  10  or  14 
Miles  from  a  Canal:  By  this  time  the  whole 
Carriage  of  the  country  would  Come  on  Water 
even  to  Passengers — and  following  the  present 
Rate  of  Carriage  on  the  Lancaster  Road,  it 
appears  that  the  tolls  would  amount  to  4,000,- 
000  per  year.  Yet  no  one  would  pay  more 
than  21  shillings  and  8d.  per  ton,  whatever 
might  be  the  distance  Conveyed,  the  whole 
would  also  be  pond  Canal,  on  which  there  is  an 
equal  facility  of  conveyance  each  way.  Hav- 
ing made  this  Calculation  to  Show  that  the 
Creative  System,  would  be  productive  of  Great 
emolument,  to  Subscribers,  It  is  only  further 
to  be  observed  that  if  each  State  was  to  Com- 

311 


APPENDIX 

mence  a  Creative  System,  It  would  fill  the  whole 
Country,  and  in  Less  than  a  Century  bring 
Water  Carriage  within  the  easy  Cartage  of 
every  Acre  of  the  American  States, — Conveying 
the  Surplus  Labours  of  one  hundred  Millions 
of  Men. 

Hence  Seeing  that  by  System  this  must  be 
the  Result,  I  feel  anxious  that  the  Public  mind 
may  be  awakened  to  their  true  Interest:  And 
Instead  of  directing  Turnpike  Roads  towards 
the  Interior  Country,  or  expending  Large 
Sums  in  River  navigations — Which  must  ever 
be  precarious  and  lead  [ —  — ]  I  Could  wish 
to  See  the  Labour,  and  funds  applied  to  Such 
a  System  As  would  penetrate  the  Interior 
Country  And  bind  the  whole  In  the  Bonds  of 
social   Intercourse. 

The  Importance  of  this  Subject  I  hope  will 
plead  my  excuse  for  troubeling  you  with  So 
Long  a  Letter,  And  in  expectation  of  being 
Favoured  with  your  thoughts  on  the  System 
and  mode  of  Carrying  it  into  effect,  I  Remain 
with  the  utmost 

Esteem  and  Sincere  Respect 
Your  Most  Obedient  Servant 

RoBT.  Fulton. 

His  Excellency  Geoiige  Washington. 

312 


APPENDIX 

TRANSLATION  : 

ROBERT    FULTON    TO    GENERAL    BONAPARTE. 

ORIGINAL  IN  LENOX  LIBRARY,  NEW  YORK 

(Page  67) 

To  General  Bonaparte. 

Citizen  General:  Citizen  Perier  having  in- 
formed me  that  you  would  like  to  have  acquain- 
tance with  my  Work  on  the  System  of  Small 
Canals,  I  take  the  liberty  of  presenting  you 
with  a  copy  and  shall  be  happy  if  you  find 
therein  some  means  of  improving  the  industries 
of  the  French  Republic. 

To  this  copy  I  have  added  two  memoirs 
which  I  purpose  putting  before  the  eyes  of  the 
Directory.  One  relates  to  the  absolutely  new 
system  of  Small  Canals  which  if  it  is  adopted, 
will  produce  the  most  considerable  portion  of 
the  public  revenue.  In  the  other  I  try  to  show 
the  favorable  results  of  this  system  and  at  the 
same  time,  the  necessity  of  an  entire  liberty  of 
Commerce. 

These  plans  of  improvement  and  my  reflec- 
tions upon  Commerce,  are  elaborations  of  the 
following  ideas  which  I  regard  as  the  base  of 
political  welfare,  and  wliich  seem  to  me  worthy 
of  the  consideration  of  all  republicans,  of  all 

313 


APPENDIX 

friends  of  humanity:  Labor  is  the  source  of 
riches  of  all  kinds ;  it  follows  that  the  more 
numerous  the  industrious  and  useful  class,  the 
more  a  country  should  gain  in  riches  and  com- 
fort. It  is  then  to  the  interest  of  each  Nation 
to  draw  from  its  natural  advantages  every  fea- 
ture possible.  To  that  end  Governments  must 
apply  themselves  above  all  to  domestic  improve- 
ments and  search  continually  to  increase  the 
number  of  useful  individuals ;  and  only  by 
eliminating  as  far  as  possible  the  causes  of  war, 
will  men  be  enabled  to  devote  themselves  to  in- 
dustrious works,  and  reduce  beggary. 

Among  all  the  causes  of  wars,  it  is  true, 
each  day  sees  disappear  that  which  relates  to 
Kings,  Priests,  and  the  things  which  accom- 
pany them.  But  nevertheless  Republics  them- 
selves will  not  be  exempt  from  melancholy 
quarrels,  in  as  much  as  they  do  not  separate 
themselves  from  the  erroneous  systems  of  ex- 
clusive commerce  and  distant  possessions. 
Therefore,  all  who  love  their  fellow  men  should 
try  to  search  to  destroy  these  errors.  Ambi- 
tion itself  should  not  search  for  glory  further 
than  to  show  to  men  the  way  of  truth,  and  to 
set    aside   the    obstacles    which   hinder    nations 

314 


APPENDIX 

from  arriving  at  a  lasting  peace, — for  what 
glory  can  survive  that  does  not  receive  the 
sanction  of  Philosophy? 

To  liberate  the  nations,  Citizen  General,  you 
have  executed  vast  enterprises,  and  the  glory 
you  have  achieved  should  be  as  durable  as  time. 
Who  then  could  render  a  more  efficacious  ap- 
proval of  the  projects  which  can  contribute  to 
the  general  welfare?  It  is  with  this  idea  that 
I  submit  my  work  to  you,  hoping  that  if  you 
find  there  some  useful  truths  you  will  vouch- 
safe the  support  of  your  powerful  influence, 
and  in  fact,  favor  projects  the  execution  of 
which  should  render  more  happy  millions  of 
men.  Could  virtuous  genius  find  a  more  de- 
lightful satisfaction?  It  is  from  this  point  of 
view  that  interior  improvements  and  liberty  of 
commerce  become  of  the  highest  importance. 

If  success  crowns  the  efforts  of  France 
against  England,  it  will  only  remain  for  her 
to  terminate  gloriously  this  long  war  by  ac- 
cording liberty  to  commerce  and  by  compelling 
other  powers  to  adopt  this  system.  Political 
liberty  would  thus  acquire  that  degree  of  per- 
fection and  of  extent  of  which  it  is  susceptible, 
and   Philosophy  would   see  with  joy  the  Olive 

^«  315 


APPENDIX 

Branch    of   Eternal    Peace    Sheltering    Science 
and  Industry.     With  salutation  and  respect, 

Robert  Fulton. 
Paris,  12  Floreal,  An  6 


LETTER    FROM    ROBERT    FULTOX    TO    JOSHUA    GIL- 
PIN, DATED   PARIS,   NOVEMBER  THE  20tH,  1798 
(Page  72) 

I  thank  you  for  .  .  .  Mr.  Chapman's  ob- 
servations on  my  system  of  small  canals  — 
which  observations  I  expect  will  tend  to  bring 
the  subject  to  discussion  and  Render  its  im- 
portance understood.  .  .  .  But  for  the  plea- 
sure of  Seeing  my  Canal  system  stand  in  its 
true  Light  I  look  to  America,  and  to  America  I 
look  for  the  perfecting  of  all  my  plans — which 
plans  are  not  numerous  but  their  Consequences 
perhaps  may  be  immense  on  the  future  im- 
provement and  happiness  of  America.  The 
plan  of  my  Nautilus  [Fulton's  plunging  boat] 
you  say  is  not  liked,  this  must  be  because  its 
Consequences  are  not  understood.  The  Idea 
is  yet  an  Infant,  but  I  think  I  see  in  it  all  the 
nerve  and  muscle  of  an  Infant  hercules  which 

316 


APPENDIX 

at  one  grasp  will  Strangle  the  Serpents  which 
poison  and  Convulse  the  American  Constitu- 
tion. 

Every  man  who  has  the  least  pretension  to 
expanded  Reflection  and  a  Knowledge  of  the 
interest  of  nations  must  admit  that  a  perfect 
free  trade  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  but  a 
free  trade  or  in  other  words  a  free  Ocean,  is 
particularly  Important  to  America.  I  would 
ask  anyone  if  all  the  American  difficulties  dur- 
ing this  war  is  not  owing  to  the  Naval  systems 
of  Europe  and  a  Licensed  Robbery  on  the 
ocean?  how  then  is  America  to  prevent  this? 
Certainly  not  by  attempting  to  build  a  fleet  to 
cope  with  the  fleets  of  Europe,  but  if  possible 
by  Rendering  the  European  fleets  useless.  A 
letter  has  not  Room  for  much  on  this  head,  my 
Reasons  on  the  Subject  shall  make  their  ap- 
pearance in  time,  and  I  hope  in  manner  which 
will  Carry  Conviction — From  what  I  have 
heard,  some  of  my  friends  fear  that  I  may 
become  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  party  — 
but  of  this  I  believe  there  is  not  the  least  dan- 
ger. If  I  know  myself  I  believe  I  am  much 
governed  by  my  own  Contemplations  which 
Contemplations   I  believe  always  tend  to  pro- 

317 


APPENDIX 

mote  the  Interests  of  Mankind — at  least  Such 
is  my  wish  and  I  Cannot  unite  with  any  party 
or  poHty  nor  will  I  aid  them  unless  I  Clearly 
see  that  an  obstacle  beftween  Society  and  a 
Lasting  peace  or  improvement  Can  be  Re- 
moved. 

Remember  me  with  the  utmost  affection  to 
Mr  and  Mrs  West  tell  them  how  much  I  love 
them,  and  wish  to  imitate  their  Social  Virtues. 
I  am  happy  Ralph  has  gone  to  America  where 
I  hope  to  return  early  in  the  Spring. 

Remember  me  also  to  Mr  Cartwright's  fam- 
ily, with  Regard  to  his  engines  I  will  write  him. 


FULTON  S     LETTER     TO     THE     DIRECTOR     OF     THE 
COMMISSION.  FRENCH       ORIGINAL       IN       THE 

BRITISH     MUSEUM.        [TRANSLATION] 

(Page  78) 

Citizen  Director:  From  the  report  of  the 
Commissioner  named  by  the  Minister  of  the 
Marine,  it  would  seem  that  the  machine  and 
the  means  by  which  I  have  proposed  to  destroy 
the  English  Fleet,  are  pronounced  to  be  prac- 
ticable,— Permit  me  then  to  recall  to  your  con- 

318 


APPENDIX 

sideration  the  consequences  which  should  result 
from  the  success  of  this  enterprise.  The  enor- 
mous commerce  of  England,  no  less  than  its 
monstrous  government,  depends  upon  its  mili- 
tary marine.  However  if  their  vessels  of  war 
are  destroyed  by  means  so  novel,  so  hidden  and 
so  incalculable,  the  confidence  of  the  sailors 
will  be  destroyed,  and  the  fleet  rendered  useless 
in  the  first  moment  of  its  terror.  In  such  a 
state  of  aff'airs  the  Republicans  in  England 
would  rise  to  facilitate  a  descent  of  the  French, 
or  would  change  their  government  of  themselves 
without  shedding  much  blood  and  without  any 
expense  to  France.  With  England  Repub- 
licanized,  the  seas  will  be  free.  The  liberty  of 
the  seas  would  become  a  guarantee  of  perpetual 
peace  to  all  maritime  nations. 

By  such  a  peace  France  will  gain  more  than 
any  other  nation,  because  of  her  great  popula- 
tion and  the  immensity  of  her  resources.  Only 
then  will  humanity  perceive,  how  priceless  are 
the  principles  for  which  the  French  have  ex- 
pended prodigies  of  their  blood,  in  all  their 
miracles  of  bravery. 

If  at  first  glance,  the  means  I  propose  seem 
revolting,  it  is  only  because  they  are  extraor- 

319 


APPENDIX 

dinary.  They  are  an3^tliing  but  inhuman ;  it 
is  certainly  the  most  peaceful  and  least  bloody 
mode  that  the  philosopher  could  imagine  to 
overturn  the  system  of  plunder  and  of  per- 
petual war,  which  has  always  vexed  the  maritime 
nations :  To  give,  at  last,  peace  to  the  earth, 
and  to  restore  men  to  their  natural  industries, 
and  to  a  happiness,  until  now,  unknown.  I 
salute  you  with  respect, 

Robert  Fulton. 
6  Brumaire,  An  7. 


FULTON  S  SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE  FRENCH  COMMIS- 
SION  APPOINTED    BY   NAPOLEON,    FOR   THE    USE 

OF  HIS  TORPEDO  INVENTION 
(Page  95) 

Having  given  you  a  sliort  Sketch  of  the  Suc- 
cession of  my  Experiments,  the  mode  of  using 
these  inventions  against  the  enemy  is  now  to  be 
considered.  On  this  Point,  time  and  experience 
will  make  numerous  improvements.  As  in  all 
other  new  inventions  and  discover  modes  of 
operation  which  could  not  possibly  occur  to 
me.      When    powder   was    invented,    its    infinite 

820 


APPENDIX 

applications  were  not  thought  of,  nor  did  the 
Inventors  of  the  Steam  Engine  conceive  the 
numerous  purposes  to  which  I[t]  could  be  ap- 
plied. In  like  manner  it  is  impossible  at  pres- 
ent to  see  the  various  modes,  or  the  best  method 
of  using  a  plunging  boat  or  the  Bomb  Sub- 
marine. But  as  far  as  I  have  reflected  on  this 
point,  I  conceive  the  best  operation  to  be  as 
follows : 

First. 

To  construct  one  or  two  good  plunging  boats 
each  36  feet  long  and  12  feet  wide.  Boats  of 
this  capacity  would  be  sufficient  to  contain  6 
men  and  air  for  8  hours.  With  provisions  for 
Inhere  the  paper  is  torn]^  days  and  transport 
from  25  to  30  Bombs  at  a  time.  Their  cylin- 
ders should  be  Brass  and  of  a  strength  to  admit 
of  descending  60  or  80  feet  under  water  in  case 
of  need.  And  they  may  be  constructed  to  sail 
from  5  to  7  miles  an  hour ;  Hence  it  may  be 
well  to  observe  that;  Quick  sailing  is  not  one  of 
the  most  important  considerations  in  this  in- 
vention. If  such  a  boat  is  pursued,  she  plunges 
under  water,  and  as  She  can  remain  under 
Water  from  4  to  8  hours  and  make  at  least 
321 


APPENDIX 

one  Mile  per  hour,  She  could  rise  Several  miles 
from  the  place  where  she  plunged  to  renew  her 
air.  Thus  the  enemies  ports  could  be  ap- 
proached And  particularly  under  the  cover  of 
the  Night.  Nor  do  I  at  present  see  that  any 
possible  vigilance  could  prevent  these  invisible 
engines  entering  their  ports  and  returning  at 
pleasure. 

Second. 

Let  there  be  also  some  hundreds  of  Bombs 
Submarine  constructed  of  which  there  are  two 
sorts, — one  arranged  with  clockwork  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  go  off  at  any  given  period,  from  4 
minutes  to  4  hours.  The  other  with  a  Gun  lock 
as  before  mentioned,  so  as  to  go  off  when  it 
strikes  against  a  vessel  or  when  a  vessel  runs 
against  it.  Each  of  these  carcasses  is  arranged 
so  as  to  float  from  4  to  15  feet  under  water  in 
proportion  to  the  water  which  the  Vessels  to  be 
attacked,  draws.  And  in  this  there  are  two  ad- 
vantages, the  first  is  that  the  bomb  is  invisible, 
— the  second  is  that  when  the  explosion  takes 
place  under  water,  the  pressure  of  tlie  column  of 
water  to  be  removed  forces  the  whole  action 
of  the  powder  against  the  vessel ;  It  was  the  re- 

322 


APPENDIX 

sistance  of  the  water  which  caused  the  sloop  on 
which  I  proved  the  experiment,  to  be  reduced 
to  atoms :  for  water,  when  struck  quick,  such 
as  the  stroke  of  a  cannon  ball  or  the  expansion 
of  powder,  acts  like  a  Solid;  and  hence  the 
whole  force  was  spent  on  the  Sloop,  or  rather 
passed  through  the  sloop  in  finding  its  pas- 
sage to  the  air  by  the  perpendicular  and  shortest 
line  of  resistance.  The  same  effect  would  no 
doubt  be  produced  on  a  vessel  of  any  dimen- 
sions by  applying  a  proportionate  quantity  of 
powder,  such  as  2,  3  or  4  hundred  weight. 

Therefore  being  prepared  with  plunging 
boats  and  Bombs  Submarine,  let  the  business  of 
the  boats  be  to  go  with  cargos  of  bombs  and  let 
them  loose  with  the  current  into  the  harbours 
of  Portsmouth,  Plymouth,  Torquay  or  else 
where.  Those  with  their  graplings  floating 
under  water  could  not  be  perceived.  Some 
would  hook  in  the  cables,  bow  or  stern,  or  touch 
in  their  passage:  many,  no  doubt,  would  miss 
but  some  would  hit,  go  off  and  destroy  the 
vessels  they  touched.  One  or  more  vessels  de- 
stroyed in  a  Port  by  such  invisible  agents  would 
render  it  too  dangerous  to  admit  of  any  vessel 
remaining.     And  thus   the   enemy   may   at   all 

323 


APPENDIX 

times  be  attacked  in  their  OAvn  Ports,  and  by  a 
means  at  once  cheap,  simple,  and  I  conceive, 
certain  in  its  operation. 

Another  mode  would  be  to  go  with  cargoes 
of  bombs  and  anchor  them  in  the  entrance  of 
rivers  so  as  to  cut  off  or  blockade  the  com- 
merce. 2  or  3  hundred,  for  example,  anchored 
in  the  Thames  or  the  Channels  leading  to  the 
Thames  would  completely  destroy  the  commerce 
of  that  river  and  reduce  London  and  the  Cabi- 
net of  St  James  to  any  terms.  No  pilot  could 
steer  clear  of  such  hidden  dangers, — no  one 
dare  to  raise  them  even  if  hooked  by  grapp- 
lings,  as  they  could  not  tell  the  moment  they 
might  touch  the  Secret  Spring  which  would 
cause  the  explosion  and  destruction  of  every- 
thing around  them.  No  vessel  could  pass  with- 
out the  utmost  danger  of  running  on  one  of 
them  and  Her  instant  destruction.  If  this  mea- 
sure should  ever  become  necessary  some  Vessels 
will  most  certainly  be  destroyed  and  their  de- 
struction alarm  the  whole  commerce  of  the 
Thames.  By  this  means  the  Thames  may  be 
blockaded  and  the  trade  of  London  completely 
stopped, — nor  can  the  combined  fleets  of  Eng- 
land prevent  this  kind  of  attack.     And  this  is 

324 


APPENDIX 

perhaps  the  most  simple  and  certain  means  of 
convincing  England  that  Science  can  put  her 
in  the  power  of  France  and  of  compelling  Her 
to  become  a  humble  pleader  for  the  liberty  of 
the  seas,  which  She  now  denies  to  her  neighbors. 
I  therefore  conceive  that  it  will  be  good 
policy  to  commence  as  soon  as  possible  the  con- 
struction of  the  boats  and  bombs.  If  they  can 
be  finished  before  the  arrival  of  Peace  their 
effects  may  be  proved  during  this  War.  Should 
Peace  be  concluded  before  they  are  finished  the 
experiments  can  be  continued.  Men  can  be 
exercised  in  the  use  of  the  engines.  And  it  is 
possible  in  a  few  years  England  will  see  it  Her 
best  policy  never  to  give  France  reason  to  exer- 
cise this  invention  against  her.  If  England 
cannot  prevent  the  blockade  of  the  Thames  by 
the  means  of  plunging  boats  and  Bombs  Sub- 
marine, of  what  use  will  be  to  her  her  boasted 
Navy.?  The  free  navigation  of  the  Thames 
noui'ishes  the  immense  commerce  of  London, 
and  the  commerce  of  London  is  the  Nerve  and 
Vitals  of  the  Cabinet  of  St  James.  Convince 
England  that  you  have  the  means  of  stopping 
that  source  of  riches,  and  she  must  submit  to 
your  terms.      Thus,  Citizens,  I  have  presented 

325 


APPENDIX 

you  with  a  short  account  of  my  experiments 
and  Plan  for  using  this  invention  against  the 
Enemy,  hoping  that  under  your  protection  it 
will  be  carried  to  perfection  and  practised  to 
promote  the  Liberty  of  the  Seas.  Health  and 
Sincere  Respect.  ^^  -r^ 

^  KOBERT    jtULTON. 


ACCOUNT    OF    FULTON-LIVINGSTON    PARTNERSHIP 
(Page  117) 

Chancellor  Livingston's  account  of  the  Ful- 
ton-Livingston partnership,  which  he  drew  up 
for  the  "American  and  Philosophical  Register," 
is  in  part  as  follows : 

Robert  R.  Livingston,  when  minister  in 
France,  met  with  Mr.  Fulton  and  they  formed 
that  friendship  and  connexion  with  each  other, 
to  which  a  similarity  of  pursuits  generally  gives 
birth.  He  connnunicated  to  Mr.  Fulton  the 
importance  of  steamboats  to  their  common 
country;  informed  him  of  what  had  been  at- 
tempted in  America,  and  of  his  resolution  to 
resume  the  pursuit  on  his  return,  and  advised 
him  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  subject.     It  was 

326 


APPENDIX 

agreed  between  them  to  embark  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  immediately  to  make  such  experi- 
ments as  would  enable  them  to  determine  how 
far,  in  spite  of  former  failures,  the  object  was 
attainable.  The  principal  direction  of  these 
experiments  was  left  to  Mr.  Fulton,  who  united 
in  a  very  considerable  degree,  practical,  to  a 
theoretical  knowledge  of  mechanics.  After  try- 
ing a  variety  of  experiments  on  a  small  scale, 
on  models  of  his  own  invention,  it  was  under- 
stood that  he  [Mr.  Fulton]  had  developed  the 
true  principles  upon  which  steamboats  should 
be  built,  and  for  the  want  of  knowing  which  all 
previous  experiments  had  failed.  But  as  these 
two  gentlemen  both  knew  that  many  things 
which  were  apparently  perfect  when  tried  on 
a  small  scale,  failed  when  reduced  to  practice 
upon  a  large  one,  they  determined  to  go  to  the 
expense  of  building  an  operating  boat  upon 
the  Seine.  This  was  done  in  the  year  1803, 
at  their  joint  expense,  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  Fulton;  and  so  fully  evinced  the  justice 
of  his  principles,  that  it  was  immediately  deter- 
mined to  cnricli  tlieir  country  by  the  valuable 
discovery,  as  soon  as  they  should  meet  there, 
and  in  the  meantime  to  order  an  engine  to  be 

327 


APPENDIX 

made  in  England.  On  the  arrival  at  New  York 
of  Mr.  Fulton,  which  was  not  until  1806,  they 
immediately  engaged  in  building  a  boat  of,  what 
was  then  considered,  very  considerable  dimen- 
sions. 


Fulton's  notes  on  m.  des  blanc's  patent 

(1802) 

(Page  128) 

This  imperfection  makes  me  believe  that  M. 
Des  Blanc  has  not  found  the  proportion  which 
his  paddles  should  bear  to  the  bow  of  the  boat, 
or  the  velocity  which  they  should  run  in  pro- 
portion to  the  velocity  which  the  boat  is  in- 
tended to  go.  —  Consequently  if  he  has  not 
known  the  proportions  and  velocities  he  has  not 
mounted  or  deposited  a  description  by  which 
an  artist  could  construct  a  Boat  to  go  any 
given  number  of  miles  an  hour  nor  in  fact  has 
he  shown  the  means  of  constructing  a  boat 
which  can  be  of  use.  He  has  left  the  propor- 
tions and  velocities  to  be  discovered.  He  has 
not  given  any  rule  to  make  a  boat  of  any  given 
dimensions,  go  any  given  distance  in  a  given 
time,  and  hence  he  has  not  as  yet  mounted  a 

328 


APPENDIX 

boat  to  navigate  by  steam  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  be  of  use  to  society ;  for  this  invention  to 
be  rendered  useful  does  not  consist  in  putting 
oars,  paddles,  wheels  or  resisting  chains  in 
motion  by  a  steam  engine — but  it  consists  in 
showing  in  a  clear  and  distinct  manner  that  it 
is  desired  to  drive  a  boat  precisely  any  given 
number  of  miles  an  hour — what  must  be  the 
size  of  the  cylinder  and  velocity  of  the  piston? 
What  must  be  the  size  and  velocity  of  the 
resisting  chains?  All  these  tilings  being  gov- 
erned by  the  laws  of  Nature,  the  real  Invention 
is  to  find  them.  —  Till  the  artist  knows  the  nec- 
essary proportions  to  this  and  all  other  sized 
boats  he  must  work  in  the  dark  and  to  great 
uncertainty,  and  can  not  be  said  to  have  made 
any  clear  and  distinct  discovery  or  useful  in- 
vention. 

In  a  paper  entitled,  "Observations  on  Mov- 
ing Boats  by  Machinery,"  after  a  technical 
review  of  several  experiments,  Fulton  summed 
his  conclusions  thus: 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  if  each  of  the 
here  mentioned  methods  are  minutely  examined 

329 


APPENDIX 

it  will  be  found  impossible  to  drive  a  boat  8 
miles,  and  perhaps  not  6  miles  an  hour,  by  such 
application  of  the  power — and  it  appears  to  me 
that  it  has  been  owing  [to]  such  defective  ap- 
plications of  the  power  and  not  to  any  defect 
in  the  steam  engine,  that  the  experiments  hith- 
erto made  have  failed.^ 

He  defined  specific  errors  in  Rumsey's  at- 
tempt in  a  section  of  his  note-book  entitled, 
"Messrs.  Parker  &  Rumsies  experiment  for 
moving  boats."  After  a  consideration  of  their 
several  points,  in  the  form  of  question  and 
answer,  he  avers: 

It  therefore  appears  that  the  Engine  was  not 
loaded  to  its  full  power,  that  the  water  was 
lifted  four  times  too  high  and  that  the  tube  by 
which  the  water  escaped  was  more  than  five 
times  too  small. 

Reviewing  the  inconvenience  and  ihadequacy 
of  their  proposed  method  of  steam  application, 
Fulton  continued : 

'Vo  see  clearly  the  error  of  this  mode  of  mov- 

^  Unpublished  paper  in  the  estate  of  Fulton's  daughter, 
Cornelia  Livingston  Crary. 

330 


APPENDIX 

ing  boats,  it  is  necessary  first  to  know  exactly 
how  much  power  is  lost  by  forcing  a  large  col- 
umn of  water  through  a  small  aperture.  And 
for  this  purpose  perhaps  some  eifperiments 
must  be  made.  However  it  is  clear  that  to  the 
less  height  the  Water  is  raised  the  more  of  the 
power  of  the  Engine  must  be  lost  in  raising  the 
water  above  its  natural  level,  and  to  say  noth- 
ing of  loading  the  Vessel  with  Water.  In  my 
opinion  the  power  of  the  Engine  cannot  be  ap- 
plied to  advantage  by  this  means. 


LETTER  TO  SKIPWITH 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  Robert  Fulton  to 
Fulner  Skipwith,  dated  Paris,  September  20, 
1802.  In  possession  of  Charles  Henry  Hart, 
of  Philadelphia. 

(Page  146) 

"The  expense  of  a  patent  in  France  is  300 
livres  for  three  years,  800  ditto  for  ten  j^ears, 
and  1500  ditto  for  fifteen  years.  There  can  be 
no  difl^culty  in  obtaining  a  patent  for  the  mode 
of  propelling  a  boat  which  you  have  shown  me ; 
but  if  the  author  of  the  model  wishes  to  be  as- 

i«  331 


APPENDIX 

sured  of  the  merits  of  his  invention  before  he 
goes  to  the  expense  of  a  patent,  I  advise  him  to 
make  a  model  of  a  boat  in  which  he  can  place  a 
clock  spring,  which  will  give  about  eight  revolu- 
tions. He  can  then  combine  the  movements  so 
as  to  try  oars,  paddles,  and  the  leaves  which  he 
proposes.  If  he  finds  that  the  leaves  drive  the 
boat  a  greater  distance  in  the  same  time  than 
either  oars  or  paddles,  they  consequently  are  a 
better  application  of  power.  About  eight  years 
ago,  the  Earl  of  Stanhope  tried  an  experiment 
on  similar  leaves,  oars  and  paddles,  and  found 
oars  to  be  the  best.  The  velocity  with  which 
a  boat  moves  is  in  proportion  as  the  sum  of  the 
surfaces  of  the  oars,  paddles,  leaves  or  other 
machine  is  to  the  bow  of  the  boat  presented  to 
the  water,  and  in  proportion  to  the  power  with 
which  such  machinery  is  put  in  motion.  ...  If 
the  author  of  the  model  is  fond  of  mechanics,  he 
will  be  much  amused  and  not  lose  his  time  by 
trying  the  experiment  in  the  manner  I  propose, 
and  this  perhaps  is  the  most  prudent  measure 
before  a  patent  is  taken.     I  am.  Sir,  with  much 

respect,  ,,. 

^  Yours, 

Robert  Fulton. 
332 


APPENDIX 

pulton's    letter    to    the    FRENCH     COMMISSION 
(Page  144) 

A  translation  of  this  letter  which  has  ap- 
peared in  "Cassier's  Magazine"  is  here  given  by 
the  courtesy  of  the  Editor. 

Paris,  Jf.  Pluvoise,  Year  XI 
(25th  January,  1803) 

Robert  Fulton  to  Citizens  Molar,  Bandell,  and 
Montgolfier,  Friends  of  the  Arts: 
I  send  you  herewith  sketch  designs  of  a  ma- 
chine which  I  am  about  to  construct  with  which 
I  propose  soon  to  make  experiments  upon  the 
towing  of  boats  upon  rivers  by  the  aid  of  fire- 
engines.  My  original  object  in  attempting  this 
was  to  put  it  in  practice  upon  the  great  rivers 
of  America  where  there  are  no  roads  suitable 
for  hauling  nor  indeed  are  any  hardly  prac- 
ticable, and  where  in  consequence  the  cost  of 
navigation  by  the  aid  of  steam  would  be  put  in 
comparison  with  the  labour  of  men  and  not 
with  that  of  horses  as  in  France. 

You  can  see  that  such  a  discovery  if  success- 
ful, would  be  infinitely  more  important  in  Amer- 
ica than  in  France  where  there  exist  everywhere 

333 


APPENDIX 

roads  suitable  for  hauling,  and  companies  es- 
tablished for  the  transport  of  merchandise  at 
such  moderate  charges  that  I  doubt  very  much 
if  a  steamboat,  however  perfect  it  might  be, 
could  be  able  to  gain  anything  over  horses  for 
merchandise.  But  for  passengers  it  is  possible 
to  gain  something  because  of  the  speed. 

In  these  plans  you  will  find  nothing  new,  since 
this  is  not  the  case  with  paddle  wheels,  an  ap- 
pliance which  has  often  been  tried  and  always 
abandoned  because  it  was  believed  that  it  had 
a  disadvantageous  action  in  the  water.  But 
after  the  experiments  which  I  have  made  al- 
ready I  am  convinced  that  the  fault  is  not  in  the 
wheel,  but  in  the  ignorance  concerning  its  pro- 
portions, its  speed,  the  power  required  and 
probably  in   the   mechanical   combination. 

I  have  proved  by  very  accurate  experiment 
that  paddle  wheels  are  much  to  be  preferred 
to  bands  of  paddles,  and  in  consequence,  al- 
though the  wheels  are  not  a  new  application,  yet 
nevertheless  I  have  combined  them  in  such  a 
manner  that  a  large  portion  of  the  power  of  the 
engine  acts  to  propel  the  boat  in  the  same  way 
as  if  they  rolled  upon  the  ground ;  the  combina- 

334 


i-  -g 

■      c  1  . 

in   ^ 
5l 


APPENDIX 

tion  is  infinitely  better  than  anything  which 
has  yet  been  done  up  to  the  present  time,  and  it 
is,  in  fact,  a  new  discovery. 

For  the  transport  of  merchandise  I  pro- 
pose to  use  a  boat  with  an  engine  arranged 
to  draw  one  or*  several  loaded  barges,  each  one 
so  close  to  the  preceding  one  that  the  water  can 
not  flow  between  to  make  resistance.  I  have 
already  done  this  in  my  patent  for  small  canals 
and  this  is  indispensable  for  boats  moved  by 
fire-engines.    (See  second  illustration  on  p.  336.) 

Suppose  the  boat  A  with  the  engine,  presents 
to  the  water  a  face  of  20  feet,  but  inclined  at 
an  angle  of  50  degrees,  it  will  be  necessary*  to 
have  a  machine  of  420  pounds  power  making 
3  feet  per  second  to  move  one  league  per  hour 
in  still  water.  If  the  boats  B  and  C  have  their 
faces  parallel  to  that  of  A  they  will  each  also 
require  a  force  of  420  pounds  that  is  to  say 
1200  pounds  for  the  three,  which  if  they  are 
connected  in  the  manner  in  which  I  have  in- 
dicated, the  force  of  420  will  suffice  for  all,  and 
this  great  economy  of  power  is  too  important 
to  be  neglected  in  such  an  undertaking. 


19* 


337 


APPENDIX 

Citizens : 

When  my  experiments  are  ready  I  shall  have 
the  pleasure  to  invite  you  to  see  them,  and  if 
they  are  successful  I  reserve  the  privilege  of 
presenting  my  labours  to  the  Republic  or  of 
taking  for  them  such  advantages  as  the  law 
may  authorize.  At  the  present  time  I  place 
these  notes  in  your  hands  in  order  that  if  any 
similar  project  comes  before  you  before  my  ex- 
periments are  completed,  they  shall  not  have  the 
preference  over  mine. 

With  respectful  salutations, 

RoBEET  Fulton. 
No.  50  Rue  Vaugirard. 


THE  FULTON  PATENTS 
(Page  195) 

The  United  States  Patent  Office  has  recently 
stated  that  while  the  Index  of  Patents  says 
that  on  February  9,  1811,  a  patent  was  issued 
to  Robert  Fulton,  the  office  is  imablc  to  furnish 
a  copy  of  it,  as  tlic  records  of  this  and  other 
early    patents    were    destroyed    in    the    Patent 

338 


APPENDIX 

Office  fire  of  1836.  It  is  well  established,  how- 
ever, that  Fulton's  first  United  States  patent 
was  obtained  February  11,  1809,  and  a  supple- 
mentary patent  February  9,  1811. 

In  his  Notes  on  the  Patent  of  1809,  in  pos- 
session of  one  of  his  heirs,  Fulton  claimed  that 
the  essential  parts  of  his  invention  of  the  steam- 
boat were  fourteen  in  number: 

"First:  The  mode  of  communicating  the 
power  from  the  piston  rod  of  the  engine  to  the 
water  wheels  without  the  common  beam  and  in 
such  a  manner  as  not  to  strain  or  impair  the 
boat. 

Second:  I  am  the  first  who  discovered  the 
superiority  of  water  wheels  over  other  modes 
•for  gaining  a  purchase  on  the  water,  and  I  am 
the  first  who  applied  water  wheels  to  a  steam 
boat.  They  are  described  in  the  specification, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  boat  and  their  number 
of  arms,  diameter,  and  size  of  propelling  boards 
minutely  detailed. 

Third :  The  wheel  guards  around  them  are 
also  detailed. 

Fourth :  I  have  shown  that  steamboats  must 
be  built  four  or  more  times  the  length  of  their 

339 


APPENDIX 

breadth  of  beam;  all  sloops  and  river  craft  are 
three  times  the  length  of  their  breadth  of  beam. 

Fifth:  The  bow  and  stern  should  be  sharp 
to  angles  of  at  least  60  degrees.  The  bow 
should  not  be  full  like  sloops,  for  two  reasons ; 
that  being  long  they  cannot  rise  on  the  waves 
like  sloops  but  must  cut  through  them,  and 
being  sharp  the  resistance  is  less. 

Sixth :  After  mentioning  the  combinations  the 
success  in  building  a  steamboat  depends  upon 
knowing  how  to  calculate  the  resistances,  the 
proportions,  and  velocities  of  the  parts  and  for 
this  purpose  the  rules  are  laid  down  exact,  in 

Seventh:  A  table  of  the  resistance  of  the 
water  and  how  to  calculate  the  total  resistance 
of  the  boat  while  running  from  one  to  six  miles 
an  hour,  unless  this  be  first  ascertained  it  would 
be  impossible  to  tell  what  strength  of  steam 
engine  would  be  required. 

Eighth :  The  specifications  show  the  power 
necessary  to  drive  the  boat  and  the  power  con- 
sumed by  taking  the  purchase  on  the  water  and 
thus  arriving  at  the  whole  power  required  the 
power  of  the  steam  engine  may  be  calculated. 

Ninth :  Shows  the  size  of  the  cylinder,  the  pis- 
ton running  two  feet  a  second. 

340 


APPENDIX 

Tenth:  Shows  the  diameter  and  velocity  of 
the  water-wheels. 

Eleventh:  Shows  the  size  of  the  propelling 
boards. 

Twelfth:  I  am  the  first  who  combined  sails 
with  steam  to  drive  a  boat. 

Thirteenth:  Shows  the  steering  wheel  and 
pilot  near  the  middle  of  the  boat  and  over  the 
station  of  the  engineer. 

Fourteenth:  How  to  get  the  merchandise  in 
steamboats  up  rapids." 


DE  Witt's  description  of  first  steamboat 
(Pages  342-345) 

A  detailed  description  of  the  first  steamboat 
was  deposited  in  1858,  at  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society  by  Richard  Varick  De  Witt,  of 
Albany,  whose  familiarity  with  the  boat  dated 
from  earliest  boyhood  when  each  week  he  had 
seen  it  tied  at  the  wharf  opposite  his  home. 
This  account  coincides  with  the  main  points, 
as  set  forth  by  Mr.  Fulton  himself  in  his  brief 
description,  already  quoted,  and  is  indorsed 
as  authentic  by  Mr.  Riley  Bartholomew,  an 
officer  of  the  boat. 

341 


APPENDIX 

Description  of  the  Steam  Boat 
North  River  of  Clermont 

The  old  North  River,  as  it  was  familiarly 
called,  was  an  enlargment  and  reconstruction 
of  the  Clermont,  the  experimental  vessel  first 
built  by  Mr.  Fulton. 

The  hull  must  have  been  about  150  feet 
long  and  18  wide  and  about  8  feet  deep  from 
the  bow  for  126  feet.  Thence  for  24  feet  the 
stern  was  elevated  above  the  main  deck  about 
three  feet  forming  a  quarter  deck  which  cov- 
ered the  Ladies  Cabin  and  the  lobby  between 
that  cabin  and  the  main  or  dining  cabin.  The 
descent  into  this  lobby  was  by  3  or  4  steps  in 
the  centre  of  the  vessel.  The  star  board  cor- 
ner of  the  lobby  formed  the  captain's  office, 
the  larboard  corner  the  passage  into  the  dining 
cabin.  In  front  of  the  Engine  Room  which  oc- 
cupied the  waist  of  the  vessel,  was  a  small  front 
cabin,  and  between  that  and  the  bow  a  fore- 
castle for  the  crew.  The  engine  occupied  the 
centre  of  the  room  leaving  space  on  one  side 
for  a  kitchen  and  on  the  other  for  a  pantry 
and  bar. 

The  Ladies  Cabin     contained    6  upper  and    4  lower  berths. 
The  Main  Cabin  "  14      "        "    14      " 

The  foreward  Cabin         "  8      "        "8     "         " 

342 


APPENDIX 

The  boat  was  rigged  with  a  small  mast  pass- 
ing up  through  the  quarter  deck  carrying  a 
boom  and  gafF  main  sail  and  a  larger  mast  and 
top  mast  forward  of  the  engine,  carrying  a 
foreguard  and  square  sail,  over  which  was  set  a 
flying  top  sail.  On  a  fore  stay  extending  to 
a  short  bow-sprit,  was  a  jib,  and  studding  sails 
were  at  times  carried  from  the  yard,  having 
booms  projecting  from  the  gunwale  of  the  boat. 
The  foremast  was  fitted  between  upright  stan- 
dards which  rose  from  the  keel  to  6  feet  above 
the  deck,  and  tlie  mast  was  pivoted  between 
them  so  as  to  be  lowered  down  upon  the  bow- 
sprit during  head  winds. 

A  pair  of  yawls,  for  the  landing  of  pas- 
sengers were  hung  on  iron  cranes  on  each  side 
of  the  main  deck  aft,  and  the  space  where  the 
wheel  guards  finish  aft  into  the  hull  were  shaped 
into  steps,  to  facilitate  the  passage  into  and 
from  the  boats  when  in  the  water. 

The  boiler  was  between  the  engine  and  main 
cabin,  its  top  being  covered  with  a  slightly 
elevated  deck.  The  Engine  (one  of  Watt  and 
Boultons,  double  acting  condensing)  consisted 
of  a  cylinder  with  a  piston  2  feet  in  diameter, 
having  a  stroke  of  4  feet,  standing  upon  an  iron 
condenser.      In  front  of  the  cylinder  stood  the 

343 


APPENDIX 

air  pump  [drawing].  On  the  top  of  the  piston 
rod  was  an  iron  cross  head  sliding  between 
guides  on  the  gallows  frame,  which  reached  from 
the  bottom  framing  of  the  vessel  to  some  12  feet 
above  its  deck.  From  the  cross  head  down  on 
each  side  of  the  cylinder  depended  a  rod  the 
lower  end  of  which  was  pivoted  to  the  end 
of  a  bell  crank  lever.  The  fulcrum  and  axis  of 
the  levers  lying  in  front  of  the  cylinder  [draw- 
ing]. The  other  arms  of  these  levers,  being 
bent  upward  and  at  right  angles  to  the  first  lev- 
ers, the  pitmans  or  shackle  bars,  were  pivoted  to 
their  upper  ends.  The  shackle  bars  extended 
forwards  and  their  front  ends  were  pivoted  to 
the  peripheries  of  crank  wheels  attached  to  the 
inboard  ends  of  the  water  wheel  shafts.  These 
wheels  were  toothed  and  cogged  into  the  teeth 
of  pinion  wheels  affixed  to  the  axis  of  a  fly 
wheel,  which  revolved  in  the  centre  of  the  en- 
gine. The  valves  of  the  cylinder  were  poppet 
valves  operated  by  the  clack  gearing,  then  in  use. 
The  steering  was  done  by  a  wheel  placed  be- 
tween the  gallows  frame  and  the  smoke  pipe 
the  wheel  ropes  passing  along  the  sides  of  the 
vessel,  to  a  standard  attached  to  the  tail  of  the 
rudder  blade  which  was  a  flat  board  of  about 

3U 


APPENDIX 

8  feet  long  and  four  \\u\v.  To  enable  the  boat 
to  be  turned  more  promptly  than  the  rudder 
could  do  it,  the  water  wheel  shafts  were  divided 
at  the  gunwale  of  the  boat,  and  there  connected 
with  couplings  so  that  the  wheel  shaft  proper 
could  be  detached  from  the  crank  shaft,  and 
thus  either  wheel  be  kept  in  motion  by  the 
engine  wliilst  the  other  was  inoperative. 

In  the  Clermont  the  fly  wheels  were  hung 
outside  of  the  hull  and  just  in  front  of  the  water 
wheels.  Upon  one  occasion,  when  by  accident 
both  the  water  wheels  had  been  destroyed,  the 
engineer  had  recourse  to  the  expedient  of  at- 
taching small  paddle  boards  to  the  rim  of  the 
fly  wheels  by  whicli  means  the  voyage  was  com- 
pleted without  any  great  loss  of  time.  This 
fact  I  had  from  a  passenger  then  on  board  tlie 
steam  boat. 

ColdiMTs  Life  of  Fulton  together  with  The 
Annals  of  Albany  by  J.  Munsell  Vol.  \\.  pub- 
lished in  1855,  furnish  a  very  full  account  of 
the  facts  and  incidents  of  this  first  successful 
effort  at  Steam  Navigation. 

Rich  Varick  l)e  Witt 
Albany,  Oct.  Ji8th  18.58. 


20 


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APPENDIX 


'riroKXTox  s   dk position 


The  deposition  which  Fulton  asked  Thorn- 
ton to  sign  was  as  follows:  it  is  friven  in  full 
because  it  so  thoroughly  defines  FultoiTs  several 
points  of  origin.ality : 

""William  Thornton,  Director  of  the  Patent 
Office  of  the  Ignited  States  at  the  City  of  Wash- 
ington, in  the  district  of  Columbia,  being  first 
duly  sworn  deposeth  and  saith.  That  in  all  es- 
says to  navigate  boats  with  steam  he  has  never 
known  a  steam  boat  to  be  more  than  50  tons 
burthen,  until  the  one  built  on  the  Hudson's 
River  by  Robert  Fulton :  That  to  the  best  of 
his  knowledge  the  said  Robert  Fulton  is  the 
first  who  ever  applied  a  Avater  wheel  on  each  side 
of  (I  hodt  to  be  navigatt'd  by  the  power  of  sieam 
and  so  arranged  the  water  wheels  that  he  can 
use  them  in  and  out  of  gear  so  as  to  try  tlie 
movements  of  the  engine  without  working  the 
Avheels;  or  work  one  wheel  at  a  time:  l^hat  he, 
the  said  I^'nlton,  is  the  first  who  ])ut  guards 
round  the  outside  of  water  wheels  applied 
to   a  boat,  so   as  to  support    the   outer  ends  of 

1  In  possession  of  JiidfiC  Peter  T.  Barlow. 


APPENDIX 

the  axels  of  said  wheels  and  guard  them  from 
injury  by  vessels  Wharves  &  having;  formed  the 
guards  he  consequently  is  the  inventor  of  every 
convenience  which  the  guards  afford,  such  as 
Steps  from  the  stern  end  of  the  guards  to  enter 
the  row  boats,  Space  in  and  on  guards  for 
carrying  fuel,  bins  in  the  guards  for  various 
materials.  Coverings  to  the  Water  wheels  to  pre- 
vent their  entangling  in  ropes  or  throwing  water 
on  deck  to  the  aiuioyance  of  passengers ;  Con- 
veniences such  as  water  closets  on  the  fore  part 
of  said  wheel  guards  for  passengers —  That 
the  said  Fulton  is  the  first  who  has  so 
arranged  the  rudder  of  his  Steamboat  as  that 
the  pilot  may  stand  near  the  centre  of  the  boat 
and  near  the  engineer  to  give  him  orders  when 
to  sto})  or  put  the  engine  in  motion.  That  the 
said  Fulton  is  the  first  who  has  combined  a 
(lib  fore  sail  fop  Sail  studden  Sails  and  Square 
sail  with  a  steam  engine  to  drive  a  boat^  and 
])laced  his  Masts  one  before  the  machinery  and 

^  [  h'ulton's  not*'.  ]  Thornton  says  he  had  or  intended  to  put 
sails  to  a  steam  boat  which  was  to  go  round  from  Phila.  to 
New  Orleans;  it  was  however  never  done  and  is  one  of  his 
embrio  and  useless  Ideas.  Insist  on  this.  Tlie  boat  was 
20  tons. 


APPENDIX 

tlie  otlit'i'  so  far  ;ift  ;is  to  leave  a  convenient 
Space  between  tlie  two  for  spreading  an  awn- 
ing for  tlie  comfort  of  tlie  passengers  and  wliicli 
space  is  not  interrupted  by  booms  or  ropes  such 
as  aiuiov  })assengers  in  tlie  usual  boats  which 
navigate  by  wind  oidy.  The  said  Robert  Ful- 
ton is  also  the  first  who  has,  to  his  knowledge, 
used  triangular  beams  in  the  body  of  his  boat 
to  connnunicate  the  power  from  the  piston  rod 
to  the  Water  wheels  and  work  his  air  pump. 
And  John  Stevens,  Ksq.  of  Broadway  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  is  the  first  to  the  l)est  of  his 
knowledge,  who  has  communicated  the  power 
from  the  piston  rod  to  the  water  wheels  by 
means  of  crank  wheels  and  shackle  bars  which 
work  on  each  side  of  tin-  Cy lender. 

'^rhe  said  Wilhain  '^rhoruton  also  deposeth 
and  saith  that  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge 
there  is  no  steam  boat  now  in  actual  and  per- 
manent operation  anywhere  in  Kuropc,  nor  ever 
has  belli  ;  all  attempts  of  the  kind  in  Kurope 
have  been  merely  experiments  which,  failing  of 
aiiv'  iisi'ful  result,  have  been  abandoned  as  use- 
loss. 

(Signed) 


352 


APPENDIX 

Now,  my  friend,  [Barlow]  all  this  is  fact 
which  you  will  insist  on  with  Thornton  and  tell 
him  if  pirates  can  thus  copy  me  he  has  no  chance 
at  any  time."*' 

Apparently  the  deposition  was  not  signed,  for 
Barlow  wrote  to  Fulton  the  following  month, 
apropos  of  Thornton : 

"The  poor  fellow  can  depose  nothing"  now 
unless  it  be  his  bones.  He  has  not  recovered 
from  his  fever  &  it  is  thought  by  some  that  he 
never  will.  He  has  not  been  out  of  the  house 
since  the  day  he  made  the  other  deposition.  I 
called  and  took  him  out  that  morning  in  my 
carriage  before  breakfast  and  kept  him  at  the 
judge's  till  eleven  o'clock  when  I  sent  him  home. — 
It  seems  he  was  sick  with  the  fever  when  I  took 
him  out,  tho'  I  did  not  know  it.  I  leave  your 
papers  for  him  with  Cutting  who  promises  to 
make  him  attend  to  it  as  soon  as  possible. 
Latrobe,  as  I  told  you,  is  very  anxious  to  aid 
you  in  establishing  the  originality  and  high  im- 
portance of  your  invention." 


21 


353 


APPENDIX 


PAINTINGS  BY  ROBERT  FULTON 

Compiled  by  Alice  Crary  Sutcliffe  for  the  Oflficial  Art  Catalogue 

of  the  Hudson-Fulton  Commission  Celebration, 

Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art 

Samuel   Beach    (miniature)  ;   owned   by   H.   A. 
Boardman,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 

John   Wilkes    Kittera    (miniature)  ;    owned   by 
Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 

Mrs.  John  Wilkes  Kittera  (miniature)  ;  owned 
by  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 

Clementina  Ross  (miniature)  ;  owned  by  Penn- 
sylvania Academy  of  Fine  Arts. 

Margaret  Ross  (pastel,  1787)  ;  owned  by  Mrs. 
C.  S.  Bradford,  Philadelphia. 

Benjamin  Franklin  (oil,  1787)  ;  bought  in  1891 
by  C.  F.  Gunther,  of  Chicago. 

Portrait  of  a  Young  Gentleman ;  mentioned  in 
Royal  Academy  Catalogue,  1791. 

Portrait  of  Two  Young  Gentlemen ;  mentioned 
in  Royal  Academy  Catalogue,  1791. 

354 


APPENDIX 

Portrait  of  a  Lady  (Mrs.  Murray)  ;  mentioned 
in  Royal  Academy  Catalogue,  1793. 

Lady  Jane  Grey  (fancy  picture)  ;  mentioned  in 
Smith's  "Catalogue  of  Portraits"  as  having 
been  painted  about  1793. 

Louis  XVI  in  Prison  taking  Leave  of  his  Fam- 
ily ;  known  through  Sherwin's  engraving,  of 
which  only  three  prints  are  known  to  exist. 

Family  of  Benjamin  West;  mentioned  in  Col- 
den's  "Life  of  Robert  Fulton,"  but  present 
whereabouts  unknown. 

Illustrations  for  Barlow's  "Columbiad" ;  repro- 
duced in  Reigart's  "Life  of  Fulton." 

"Incendie  de  Moscow"  (panorama). 

Joel  Barlow  (oil)  ;  owned  by  Judge  Peter  T. 
Barlow,  New  York  City. 

Joel  Barlow  (oil)  ;  owned  by  Robert  Fulton 
Ludlow,  Claverack,  New  York. 

Robert  Fulton  (oil,  1795)  ;  owned  by  Mrs. 
Robert  Fulton  Blight,  New  York. 

Portrait  of  Charlotte  Villette  (1802);  men- 
tioned in  "Life  and  Letters  of  Joel  Barlow," 
by  C.  B.  Todd. 

355 


APPENDIX 

Colonel  Michael  McCurdy  (miniature)  ;  owned 
by  Mrs.  George  McHenry,  Philadelphia. 

Joseph  Bringhurst  (oil,  1786)  ;  owned  by  Ed- 
ward Bringhurst,  Wilmington,  Del. 

Mrs.  Joel  Barlow ;  mentioned  in  letter  of  Barlow 
to  Fulton  (1800). 

Abraham  Baldwin,  U.  S.  Senator ;  a  drawing  of 
this  portrait  appears  in  the  Centennial  vol- 
ume of  Washington's  Inauguration.  It  was 
made  by  Emanuel  Leutze,  after  the  original. 

Earl  Stanhope  (oil)  ;  owned  by  Herman  Liv- 
ingston, Catskill  Station,  New  York. 

John  Livingston  (oil)  ;  owned  by  Robert  Fulton 
Ludlow,  Claverack,  New  York. 

Miniature  of Cunningham ;  owned  by  Mrs. 

Stevens,  widow  of  Bishop  Stevens  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Mrs.  Walter  Livingston  (oil),  mother  of  Mrs. 
Robert  Fulton ;  owned  by  Mrs.  Hermann  H. 
Cammann,  New  York.  The  portrait  is 
painted  on  wood,  and  upon  the  back  is  an  un- 
finished portrait  of  Barlow  Fulton,  only  son 
of  Robert  Fulton. 

356 


INDEX 


INDEX 


AbW  St,  Pierre,  99  writes    of    proposed    canal, 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  295  290;  writes  to   Fulton,  353 

Allen,  John,  M.D.,  112  Barlow,  Mrs.  Joel,  73 

Alossen,  Solomon,  195  Barton,  Benjamin  T.,  19 

America,  United  Colonies  of.  Bell,  Henrv,  111 

18;  friend  of,  55;  ship  the  Blight,  Robert  Fulton,  180 

engine  for,  164,  185  Bonaparte,  General,  Fulton's 
Andre,   Major  John,  parole      letter  to,  304 ;  Fulton  writes 
of,  18;  tut'or,  19;  talent  for      to,  313 

art,  19  Bossu[t],  M.,  witnesses  Ful- 
Arnal,  Abbe,  111  ton's    experiment,    125,    150 

Boulton    and    Watt,    engine 
Barker,  Mr,  Jacob,  187  of,   126;  Fulton's  letter  to. 

Barker,  Sarah,  187  151,    157,    158;   payment   of 

Barlow,    Joel,    letter    from,      engine,    185;    Fulton's   first 
42;    in    Paris,    62;    Fulton      letter  to,  303 

resides    with,    63;    Fulton's  Bramwell,  Sir  Frederick,  42 

portrait  of,  66;  aids  Fulton  Bridgewater,  Duke  of,  38; 
in    experiments,    67;    men-      canal-building,  41 

tions    Cartwright's    engine,  Brindley,  engineer,  38 

72;  forwards  drafts  to  Ful-  Brink,  Captain  Andrew,  224; 
ton,  74;  letter  to  his  wife,  Fulton's  first  meeting  with, 
75,  76;  informs  Fulton  of  225;  Fulton's  payment  to, 
British    scrutiny,    98;    Ful-      226;  Fulton's  letter  to,  253 

ton's  letter  to,  106;  deposi-  Brownne,  Charles,  182;  pay- 
tion  of,   123;  passport   for,      ment  to,  189,  190 

159;  letter  of,  167;  letter  Burd,  Edward,  letter  from, 
of   1806   from   Fulton,   171;      12 

prophecy     of,     182;     letter  Bushnell,  David,  68 
from     Fulton     (Clermont), 

233;    writes    to    Cliancellor  Calhoun,  J.  B.,  217 

Li%'ingston,     235;     receives  Cammann,  Mrs.  Hermann 
Thornton's  deposition,  286;      H.,  160 

359 


INDEX 


Canal  navigation,  39;  sys- 
tem, develoi>ment  of,  45; 
treatise  on,  47;  construc- 
tive system  of,  61 ;  exten- 
sion, letters  on,  66;  Erie, 
67;  Fulton's,  from  Paris  to 
Dieppe,  71 ;  P'ulton's  expo- 
sition of,  309 

Carnot,  French  statesman,  62 

Cartwright,  Edmund,  pat- 
ents of,  73;  engines  of,  318 

Cave,  Messrs.,  &  Son,  185 

Church,  Edward,  145 

Clermont,  the,  154;  first 
orders  engine  for,  151 ; 
named,  18:;?;  engine  for, 
185;  boiler  of,  185;  comple- 
tion of,  190;  expenditures 
for,  189;  Fulton's  descrip- 
tion of,  191 ;  facsimile  of, 
196;  preliminary  test  of, 
197;  voyage  up  Hudson, 
202,  2i9;  further  de- 
scription of,  204;  newspa- 
per notice  of,  220;  Fulton 
writes  to  "American  Citi- 
zen" of,  222;  country-seat 
of  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
223;  men  employed  on,  225; 
stewardess  of,  226;  M.  Ml- 
chaux's  account  of,  228;  Is 
fitted  for  traffic,  236;  first 
advertisement  for,  239;  new 
announcement  of,  241 ;  lost 
paddle-wheel,  245;  news 
item,  245;  Judge  John  Q. 
Wilson's  account  of,  246; 
established  as  a  packet, 
253;  mishap  to,  256;  appre- 
ciation of  passengers  of, 
257;  enlargement  of,  259; 
final  disposition  of,  285 


Colden,  Cadwallader  D.,  40, 
42;  writes  of  Rumsey  and 
Fitch,  128;  statement  of, 
181;  describes  voyage,  211; 
agreement  for  railways 
with,  268 

Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor,  46 

Commission,  French,  Ful- 
ton's  letter   of   1799,  318 

Commission,  French,  Ful- 
ton's  letter  of   1803,  333 

Cook,  Mrs.  Isabella,  30 

Cope,  Mr.  John,  19 

Coruth,  Peter,  payment  to, 
189 

Crary,  estate  of  Cornelia  L., 

■  116,  159 

Crary,  Rev.  Robert  Fulton, 
manuscript  owned  by,  135; 
engraving  sent  to,  226 

Cunningham,  John,  188 

Dearborn,  General,  288 
Delaplaine's    "Repository," 

12 
Demologus,  the,  175 
Dcs  Blanc,  M.,  Fulton  views 

patent  of,  127;  description 

of  ])atent  of,  328 
De  Witt,  Richard  Varick, 

341 
Directory,   French,   61,   77 
Dyke,  Charles,  227 

England,  William  Henry  in, 
31 ;  Robert  Fulton  visits, 
34;  Robert  Fulton's  coun- 
try to\ir  in,  35;  waterways 
of,  39;  united  efforts  of, 
51;  attitude  of,  57;  terms 
of  peace  with  France,  61 

English  fleet,  79 


360 


INDEX 


English  patents,  45 

Erie  Canal,   Fulton's  first 

mention  of,  67 
Erving,      George      William, 

153;  American  Consul,  156; 

Fulton's  letter  to,  163 
"Essay  to  the  Friends  of 

Mankind,"  180 

Fitch,  John,  visits  William 
Henry,  33;  Dr.  Thurston's 
estimate  of,  34;  experi- 
ments, 110;  project  of,  136; 
Colden  writes  of,  138; 
abandonment  of  plan  by, 
129 

Forfait,  M.,  Secretary  of  the 
Marines,  83;  reply  of,  96 

Fox,   administration   of,    170 

France,  terms  of  peace  with 
England,  61 ;  patents  in, 
63;  government  of,  77; 
officials  of,  96 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  friend- 
ship with,  26;  letter  from, 
30 

Free  trade,  universal,  50; 
"Thoughts  on,"  51 

French,  Fulton's  study  of,  66 

French  army,  victories  of, 
65 

French  democracy,  56 

French  Directory,  61 ;  Ful- 
ton addresses  paper  to,  51 

French  nation,  52 

French    Revolution,    52 

Fulton,  origin  of  family,  3 

Fulton,  Aunt,  9 

Fulton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  por- 
traits of,  9 

Fulton,  Robert,  Iiirth  of,  3, 
7;  mother  of,  4,  17;  Dela- 


plaine's  estimate  of,  13; 
early  interest  in  mechanics, 
13;  school  anecdotes  of, 
14;  artistic  talent  of,  30, 
31 ;  designs  firearms,  etc., 
31 ;  makes  paddles  for  fish- 
ing-boat, 33;  goes  to  Phila- 
delphia, 25;  in  Directory, 
36;  ill  health  of,  39;  buys 
farm,  39;  buys  lots  in 
Washington,  30 ;  conveys 
lots,  30;  goes  to  England, 
30;  Dr.  Thurston's  tribute, 
34;  residence  at  Powder- 
ham  Castle,  36;  sojourn  in 
Devonshire,  37;  abandon- 
ment of  art,  39;  goes  to 
Birmingham,  41 ;  correspon- 
dence with  Watt,  42;  first 
inception  of  steam  naviga- 
tion, 43 ;  patent  for  inclined 
plane,  45;  secures  English 
patents,  45;  invention  for 
spinning  flax,  45;  invention 
for  twisting  hemp  rope, 
45;  invention  of  dredging- 
machine,  46;  patents  "The 
Market  or  Passage  Boat," 
46;  patents  a  "Dispatch 
Boat,"  46;  partnership  with 
John  Owen,  46;  meets 
Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge, 
46 ;  publishes  "Treatise," 
47;  as  civil  engineer,  48; 
advocacy  of  free  trade,  50; 
letter  to  David  Morris,  51; 
his  political  views,  56;  goes 
to  Paris,  62;  resides  with 
Barlow,  63;  invents  first 
French  panorama,  63;  ad- 
vanced studies,  66;  paints 
portraits  in  Paris,  66;  ex- 


361 


INDEX 


periments  with  submarine 
explosives,  67;  his  friends 
doubtful  of  his  experi- 
ments, 71 ;  assisted  by 
Cartwright,  73 ;  constancy 
to  his  country,  73;  at 
Havre,  73;  builds  the  Xnu- 
tilus,  79;  at  Brest,  79; 
word  from  Napoleon,  79; 
contract  with  Napoleon,  80; 
explains  his  refusal  to  Na- 
poleon, S3;  letter  of,  to 
Napoleon's  commission,  84; 
second  letter  of,  to  Napo- 
leon's commission,  89 ; 
demonstration  of  his  sub- 
marine boats,  95;  terms 
with  British  Government, 
101 ;  terms  of  arbitration 
with  England,  102,  106; 
declines  offer  to  suppress 
torpedo,  10:3;  agreement 
with  Livingston,  105,  336; 
knowledge  of  early  at- 
tempts, 115;  partnership 
with  Livingston,  117;  trial 
boat  on  the  Seine,  124,  145; 
estimates  values  of  Rum- 
sey  and  Fitcli's  devices, 
128;  notes  on  speed,  139; 
joint  expense  with  Living- 
ston, 143;  offers  steamboat 
to  French  Governniont,  114; 
letter  to  Fulner  Skipwith, 
147;  account  of  French 
boat  of,  150;  writes  to 
Boulton  and  Watt,  151; 
reply  of  Napoleon,  160; 
plans  return  to  America, 
166;  letter  from  Barlow, 
167;  arbitration  with  Brit- 
ish   Government,    171;    re- 


turns to  America,  182; 
expenses  of,  185;  secures 
additional  funds,  191;  de- 
scription of  Clermont,  192; 
plans  of  the  Clermont,  196; 
describes  trial  on  East 
River,  197;  account  of  first 
voyage  up  tlie  Hudson,  202; 
betrotiial  of,  211;  personal 
descri])tions  of,  213,  214, 
217,  255;  writes  to  Barlow 
of  Mississippi  navigation, 
221;  letter  of,  to  the 
"American  Citizen,"  22-2 ; 
announces  success  of  Cler- 
mont, 233;  letter  to  Chan- 
cellor Livingston,  236 ; 
advertises  the  Clermont, 
239;  describes  enlargement 
of  Clermont,  259;  contem- 
plates steam  for  railways, 
265;  letter  from  Chancellor 
Livingston  to,  266;  agrees 
to  build  a  railway,  268;  de- 
fines priority  of  invention, 
286;  plans  for  foreign  riv- 
ers, 293;  letter  to  Wash- 
ington, 306 ;  "Observations 
on  ISIoving  Boats,"  329; 
jiaintings  by,  354 

Fulton,  Robert,  Senior,  3,  4, 
8,  9,  13 

Fulton  Ferry  to  Brooklyn,  237 

F niton  the  First,  175 

"Fulton's  Folly,"  188,  290 

Germany,  51 ;  Carnot  flees 

to,    63 
Gilpin,  Joshua,   71  ;   letter 

from  l''nIton  to,  316 
Gregoi-y,  Hr.,  emissary  from 

British  Government,  98 


362 


INDEX 


Gumpf,   Christopher,  22;         Johnson,  Mr.,  payment  to, 
Gumpf,    Deter,   23;    fishing-      190 
boat  of,  24i  Juliana  Library,  4 


Hale,  Dr.   Edward   Everett, 

145 
Hammond,  Mr.,  159 
Havre,  Fulton  at,  73 
Hawksburr,  Lord,  156 
Heath,  Captain,  2()8 
Henry  IV  of  France,  99 
Henry,     AVilliain,     of     Lan- 
caster,    31 ;      meets      Herr 
Shoepff,     32;     meets     John 
Fitch,    33;    Dr.    Thurston's 
estimate     of,     34;     experi- 
ments of,  110 
Herbert,  Sir  Thomas,  68 
Hodgkin,    Eliot,    115;   letter 

forwarded  by,  294 
Hogl,  Mr.,  30 

Houdon,  Jean  Antoine,  bust 
of  Fulton,  66 
Hudson-Fulton    Commis- 
sion, 196 

Hudson  River,  41,  110 
Hudson  River  Day  Line,  139 
Hunt,  Mrs.,  18T 
Huntingdon,  Mr.,  156 

India,  .steamboats  for,  294 
Irving,  Washington,  180 
Isch  &  Messersmith,  23 

Jackson,  Mr.,  payment  to, 
189;  Fulton's  mention  of, 
254 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  164;  let- 
ter to,  165;  President,  175; 
canal  proposition  of,  288 

Johnson,  Caleb,  schoolmas- 
ter, 13 


Kalorama,  171 
Kilkenny,  Ireland,  3 
Kirby,  Mr.  Frank  E.,  196 

Lancaster,  town  of,  4,  8,  12; 
Presbyterian  church,  4,  12; 
Union  Fire  Company,  4; 
Center  Square,  4;  Penn 
Square,  4 ;  Ben j  amin  West's 
art  in,  10;  Court  House,  12, 
17;  Andre  in,  18;  school- 
house,  20;  prisoners  at,  24; 
Fulton's  mother  at,  25 ; 
townsman,  William  Henrv, 
31;  Herr  Shoepif  in,  32 

Lancaster  County,  Little 
Britain,  3,  7 

Lane,  Thomas,  294 

Langlois,  Colonel  Jean 
Charles,  65 

La  Place,  Pierre-Simon,  83, 
84,  89 

Leamont,  J.  R.,  Esq.,  282 

lyC  Blanc,  experiments  of,  126 

Le  Fevre,  Robert,  portrait 
of  Fulton,  66 

Little  Britain,  birthplace  of 
Fulton,  3;  township  re- 
named, 7;  Robert  Fulton 
visits,  23 

Livingston,    Brockhurst, 
Esq.,  152 

IJvingston,    Clermont,    197, 
201,  238 

Livingston,  E.  Brockholst, 
197 

Livingston,  Edward,  238 

Livingston,  Edward   P.,   123 


363 


INDEX 

Livingston,  Gilbert  R.,  '209  Lym,  Mr.,    Clermont  bedding 

Livingston,   Miss   Harriet,  bouglit  from,  2:24 

210,  211,  212,  218  Lyman,  General,  172 

Livingston,   Colonel  ILirry, 

210  '  Malmesbury,  Earl  of,  61 

Livingston,  Miss  Helen,  209;  Martin,  Mr.,  payment  to,  189 

describes  Fulton,  214  Mason,  General,  166 

Livingston,      John      Henry,  Maxwell,  Mr.,  payment  to, 
document  in  possession  of,      189 

117;   captain's  book   owned  McXeven,  Dr.,  210 

by,  269  Melville,  Lord,  101,  102 

Livingston,  John  R.,  210,  Messersmith,  Isch  &,  22 

212  Michaux,     M.,     account     of 

Livingston,  John  Swift,  210,      steamboat,  228;  on  passen- 
212  ger  list,  233 

Livingston,  Kate,  210  Mifflin,  Governor  of  Penn- 

Livingston,   Robert   L.,   wit-      sylvania,  50 

nessed     contract,    122;     re-  Miller,  Nicholas,  14 

newed  contract,   123  Minister  of  the  Marine,  78; 

Livingston,  Chancellor   Rob-      letter    from    the,   80;   letter 
ert  R.,  interview  with  Joel      to  the,  95 
Barlow,       72;       agreement  Mississippi  River,  33;  steam 
with,    105;    experiments    of,      navigation        upon.        111; 
111;  partnership  with  Ful-  everything  proved  for,  201; 
ton,   117;   renewal  by  heirs      utility    for,    220;    merchan- 
of  contract,  123;  then  resi-      dise    on,    235;    velocity    of, 
dent   in    France,    124;   sug-  238;  canal  from,  288 
gests      a      company,      127;  Missouri  River,  merchandise 
country  place  of,  182;  "new  on,  235 
boat"    of,    209;    announces  Mitchell,  Dr.,  210 
betrothal    of    Fulton,    211;  Monge,  Gaspard,  83,  84,  89 
reply   of,   212;   letter   from  Monroe,    Hon.    James,    153; 
Fulton,  236,  259;  letter  to      Fulton's  letter  to,  155;  de- 
Fulton,     266;     account     of  cision  of,  157 
]iartnershi]i,  326  Montgomery,  General,  18 

Livingston,  Mr.  Walter,  210;  Morey,  Samuel,  112 

estate  of,  218  Morris,    David,    .30;    nephew 

Livingston,   William,   Gover-  of  Benjamin  West,  .30;  let- 

nor  of  New  Jcrscv,  209  ter  to,  30;  Fulton  writes  to, 

Longstreet,  William,  112  51 

Louisiana,  acquisition  of,  Morris,  Mrs.  Mary,  30 

221  Morris,  Robert,  210 

364 


INDEX 


Morris,  Mrs.  Thomas,  210 
"Moscow,  rincendie   de,"   64 
Murray,  Mrs.,  portrait  of, 
35 

Napoleon,  army  of,  64; 
sends  word  to  Fulton,  79; 
appoints  commission,  S-2 ; 
counselors  of,  97;  Fulton 
and,  160;  General  Bona- 
parte, 304;  Fulton's  letter 
to,  313;  Fulton's  suggestion 
to  commission  of,  320 
National  Institute,  125 
Nautilus,  Fulton's  subma- 
rine torpedo-boat,  79;  official 
acceptance  of  the,  80;  ol)- 
servation  of,  by  British 
ministry,  156;  disapproval 
of,  316' 

Newcomen,  engine  of,  113 
North  River  steamboat,  250; 
regular  trips  of,  268;  pas- 
senger regulations  on,  269, 
274;  list  of  passengers  on, 
278;  companion  for,  282; 
description  of,  342 

Ohio  River,  33 

Owen,  John,  one-time  part- 
ner of  Fulton,  46;  auto- 
biography of,  46 

Oxford,  Edmund  Cartwright, 
graduate  of,  72 

Panorama,  Fulton  invents, 
63;  subject  of,  64;  song  ex- 
tolling the,  65 ;  profits  from, 
74 

Paris,  canal  treatise  pub- 
lished in,  50;  Joel  Barlow 
in,  62;  Fulton  goes  to,  62; 


panorama  in,  63;  Joel  Bar- 
low's     letters      from,      74; 
partnership  formed  at,  117 
Parker,  Mr.,  166 
Parmentier,  M.,  228,  233 
Patent  of  1809,  notes  on 
the,  339 

Patents,  Fulton's,  for  boats, 
338 
Peace,  universal,  61 
Peale,  Charles  Wilson,  268 
Pennsylvania,      3;      Chester 
County,  4,  9 ;  Oxford  Town- 
ship,  4;    Fulton    Township, 
7;  Committee  of  Safety  of, 
18;  Hopewell,  29;  Washing- 
ton   County,    29;    Bowen's 
"Sketches     of,"     31;     Gov- 
ernor  Mifflin  of,  50;  Robert 
Fulton  of,  117 
Perrier,  M.,  124;  unsuccess- 
ful trial  of,  127 
Philadelphia,  Benjamin  West 
at,  11;  Fulton  goes  to,  25; 
Directory  of  1785,  26;  Ful- 
ton's residence  in,  26 
Pitt,  Mr.,  100 

Plombieres,   Fulton   at,   137 
Powderham,   Baron   of,  36; 
a  refugee,  37 
Powderham  Castle,  36 
Proney,  M.,  Fulton's  experi- 
ment in  presence  of,  125 

Quaker,    Caleb    Johnson    a, 

13;  teacher,  14 
Quevton,  Citizen,  90;  advice 

of,  "92;  calculation  of,  93 
Quicksilver  Bob,  21 

Rariton,  282 

Rawle,  William,  letter  to,  12 


365 


INDEX 


Reigart,  J.  F.,  180;  letter  to, 

Renwick,  James,  "Biog- 
raphy of  Rol)ert  Fulton," 
35;  quotation  from,  36; 
statement  of,  40;  descrip- 
tion of  Fulton,  255 

Revolution,  War  of  the,  20; 
the  French,  51,  56 

Roosevelt,  Nicholas  J.,  Ill; 
payment  to,  284 

Royal  Academy,  President 
of,  9;  West  presides  at, 
30;  catalogue  of,  35 

Rumsey,  James,  110;  proj- 
ect by,  126;  Colden  writes 
of,  128;  errors  in  attempts 
of,  330 

Russia,  united  efforts  of, 
51;  Empress  of,  55;  intro- 
duction of  steamboats  in, 
295 

Sabbaton,  Paul  A.,  descrip- 
tion of  Fulton,  217;  letter 
of,  268 

Schuyler,  Cornelia,  218 

Scott,  Mrs.  Pegg)',  30 

ShoepflF,  Herr,  32 

Sidmouth,  .Lord,  100 

Skipwith,  Fulner,  146;  Ful- 
ton's letter  to,  331 

Smith,  Helen  .Evertson,  210 

Smith,  Joseph,  4 

Smith,  Miss  Mary,  4 

Smith,  Colonel  Robert,  4 

Smith,  Thomas,  payment  to, 
189 

Smith,  William  Mather,  211 

Smitli,  Mr.,  98,  100 

Stanhope,  Earl  of,  38;  Ful- 
ton's  correspondence    with. 


40;  discoveries  of,  40;  ex- 
periments of,  41,  111,  116; 
friendship  with  Fulton,  41 ; 
Fulton's  acknowledgment 
to,  48;  letter  from  Joslma 
Gilpin,  71;  his  warning  to 
British  ministry,  97,  100; 
letter  from  Fulton  to,  129 

Stanton,  Mr.  Samuel  Ward, 
192 

Stevens,  Mr.  John,  191 

"Submarine   Navigation  & 
Attack,"  98 

Suplee,  ilr.  C.  Harrison, 
96 

Svinie,  Chevalier,  294;  Ful- 
ton's letter  to,  295 

Swift,  Joseph,  8 

Symington,   William,   111 

Teviotdale,  218 

Thames  River,  111 

Thayer,  James  William,  74 

Thornton,  William,  286;  de- 
position of,  350 

"Thoughts  on  Free  Trade," 
180 

Thurston,  Robert  H.,  .33 

Todd,^  Charles  Burr,  174 

Torpedoes,  destructive  sy.s- 
tem  of,  61 ;  initial  idea  of, 
67;  Fulton's  name  of,  68; 
definition  of  "Torpaedo," 
68;  declined  by  British 
Government,  102;  Fulton's 
suggestions  to  French  Com- 
mission on,  320 

Torpedo-boats,  Fulton's  tests 
with,  74;  experiments,  75; 
consideration  of  project, 
170 

"Torpedo  Warfare,"   180 


366 


INDEX 


"Treatise  on  Canal   Naviga- 
tion," 47,  50,  180,  304 
Trie,  James,  payment  to,  189 

United  States,  57 

Vanderlyn,  John,  portrait 

by,  113,  171 
Vandervoort,  William,  242 
Van  Wagenen,  Gerrit  H., 

250 
Villaret,  Admiral,  94 
Virginia,  springs  of,  29 
Volney,    Count,    83,    84,    89; 

Fulton's       experiment       in 

presence  of,  125 

"Washington,  George,  Fulton 
sends  treatise  to,  50;  writes 
to  Fulton.  50,  308;  Fulton's 
letter  to,  306;  Fulton's  let- 
ter of  1797  to,  309 
Washington,  town  of,  29 
Washington  County,  29 
Watt,  James,  his  engine,  31, 


72,  163;  meeting  of  Robert 
Fulton  and,  42;  Boulton  &, 
126 

Wayne,  General,  18 

West,  Benjamin,  9;  Presi- 
dent of  Royal  Academy,  9, 
30;  early  art,  10;  mother 
of,  11;  paints  tavern  signs, 
22;  uncle  of  David  Morris, 
30;  letter  to,  31;  considera- 
tion of  artists,  34;  friend- 
ship with  Fulton,  34;  Ful- 
ton leaves   plates  with,   173 

West,  Edward,  experiments 
of,  110 

White's  Directory  of  Phila- 
delphia, 26 

Wilson,  Judge  John  Q.,  246 

Wilson,  Richard,  226 

Wiswall,  Captain  Samuel, 
253;  book  of,  269 

Wood,  James,  Fulton  bought 
knives  and  forks  from,  224 

Zantzinger,  Paul,  18 


367 


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